Maireana erioclada
| Maireana erioclada | |
|---|---|
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Tracheophytes |
| Clade: | Angiosperms |
| Clade: | Eudicots |
| Order: | Caryophyllales |
| Family: | Amaranthaceae |
| Genus: | Maireana |
| Species: | M. erioclada
|
| Binomial name | |
| Maireana erioclada | |
| Distribution map of M. erioclada, according to verified spatial information from the Living Atlas of Australia, October 2022 | |
| Synonyms[1] | |
| |
Maireana erioclada, commonly known as rosy bluebush[2] or fleshy bluebush,[3] is a species of flowering plant in the family Chenopodiaceae and is endemic to southern continental Australia. It is a bushy, spreading, glaucous shrub with hairy branches, fleshy, club-shaped to narrowly egg-shaped leaves, bisexual flowers arranged singly, and a glabrous fruiting perianth with a narrowly funnel-shaped tube with horizontal wings.
Description
Maireana erioclada is a perennial, bushy, glaucous shrub that typically grows to a height of up to 60 cm (24 in).[2] Its leaves are narrowly oval with the narrower end towards the base to club-shaped, up to 10 mm (0.39 in) long, glabrous and with a rounded end.[4] The flowers are bisexual, and arranged singly in leaf axils.[2] The fruiting perianth is bright red or pink, maturing to dull brown, with a narrowly funnel-shaped tube with 5 vertical wings fused to a horizontal wing, 12 mm (0.47 in) in diameter.[2][5][6] The fruiting perianths appear between August and November.[7]
Taxonomy
This species was first formally described in 1870 by English botanist George Bentham who gave it the name Kochia triptera var. erioclada in his Flora Australiensis.[8] Bentham's description was based on two collections: one from Western Australia, chosen in 1848 by Erwin Gauba in 1948 as the lectotype and one collected in the "Murray desert" by Ferdinand von Mueller.[9] In 1975, Paul Wilson raised the variety to species status as Maireana erioclada in the journal Nuytsia.[6][10]
This species is similar to Maireana pentatropis, but has five wings joined to the tube throughout its length, but some specimens suggest possibly hybridisation between the two species [6]
Distribution and habitat
Maireana erioclada is native to Western Australia[11], South Australia,[3] New South Wales[12] and Victoria where it grows on red-brown soils and on sandy loams on flat ground or in saline depressions.[7][12] In Victoria, the species occurs in the far north-west of the state in mallee communities, extends to the edges of salt pans.[5] The species is noted to invade disturbed areas along roadsides.[2]
References
- ^ a b "Maireana erioclada". Australian Plant Census. Retrieved 28 June 2025.
- ^ a b c d e Wilson, Paul G. "Maireana erioclada". Flora of Australia. Australian Biological Resources Study, Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water: Canberra. Retrieved 28 June 2025.
- ^ a b "Maireana erioclada". Seeds of South Australia. Retrieved 28 June 2025.
- ^ "Fact sheet for Maireana erioclada". flora.sa.gov.au. Retrieved 2022-10-23.
- ^ a b Victorian Resources Online, Agriculture Victoria. "Rosy Bluebush". vro.agriculture.vic.gov.au. Retrieved 2022-10-23.
- ^ a b c Wilson, P.G. (1975). "A taxonomic revision of the genus Maireana (Chenopodiaceae)". Nuytsia: Journal of the Western Australian Herbarium. 2 (1): 39.
- ^ a b "Flora of Victoria". vicflora.rbg.vic.gov.au. Retrieved 2022-10-23.
- ^ "Kochia triptera var. erioclada". Australian Plant Name Index. Retrieved 28 June 2025.
- ^ Bentham, George (1870). Flora Australiensis. London: Lovell Reeves & Co. p. 185. Retrieved 28 June 2025.
- ^ "Maireana erioclada". Australian Plant Name Index. Retrieved 28 June 2025.
- ^ "Maireana erioclada". FloraBase. Western Australian Government Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions.
- ^ a b "PlantNET - FloraOnline". plantnet.rbgsyd.nsw.gov.au. Retrieved 2022-10-23.