| Dissocarpus paradoxus | |
|---|---|
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| Dissocarpus paradoxus flower [1] | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Tracheophytes |
| Clade: | Angiosperms |
| Clade: | Eudicots |
| Order: | Caryophyllales |
| Family: | Amaranthaceae |
| Genus: | Dissocarpus |
| Species: | D. paradoxus |
| Binomial name | |
| Dissocarpus paradoxus (R.Br.) F.Muell. ex Ulbr. | |
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Dissocarpus paradoxus is a shrub species of inland Australia, also known by the common names of cannonball burr or curious saltbush . [2]
Common names for Dissocarpus paradoxus include Cannon Ball Burr, Ball Bindyi, Curious Saltbush and Hard-head Bassia. [3] The species was described and named (synonymous with Bassia paradoxa) by Robert Brown & Baron Ferdinand von Mueller. [2] Dissocarpus paradoxus is a short lived perennial shrub growing to 50 cm high, with hairy leaves to 15mm long. [4] The species has also been described as an annual or short-lived perennial forb or shrub, and sometimes growth is described as prostrate. [3] The flowers consist of white woolly heads, with 8-16 flowers clustered together at the base of leaves. [3] Flowering occurs from early spring through to summer, however flowering can sometimes occur at other times throughout the year. [2] Fruit is globular, dense and a hardened mass of white woolly texture, around 10mm in diameter, with many ridged spines extending out of the woolly mass. [2] As the hardened woody head decomposes, the seeds are released. [4] Dissocarpus paradoxus Var. latifolia differs slightly from paradoxus, with oblong to wedged shaped leaves, which are 5-8mm wide. [2]
The species occurs in many woodland communities including mallee, mulga, bimble box, belah-rosewood and gidgee communities, as well as bladder saltbush and black bluebush communities. [2] Preferred habitat is red earth and solonized (high saline content) brown soils. [2] Species of the family Chenopodiaceae have adapted to and are tolerant of highly alkaline soils, that contain high levels of carbonates and salts, whilst still being able to produce many seeds. [5] Plants are short lived, and although specimens may be locally common, seasonal conditions can determine relative abundance of Dissocarpus paradoxus. [2] Although stock do forage on Dissocarpus paradoxus, it is not as palatable as other forage plants. [2]
The species is synonymous with Bassia paradoxa, Chenolea paradoxa and Sclerolaena paradoxa. [6] Dissocarpus paradoxus is in the Saltbush family, a large plant family containing many important food crops, with most species of the family occurring in areas with soils that contain a high concentration of inorganic salts. [3] Sometimes the Saltbush family Chenopodiaceae, is included as a subfamily within the family Amaranthaceae. [3] The two families Chenopodiaceae and Amaranthaceae are related, and in Australia are often referred to as 'cheno-ams' [5] In Australia there is documented use of the leaves and seed of cheno-ams as a food resource, by various Indigenous groups. [5]
Dissocarpus paradoxus is listed as 'of least concern' in Queensland and the Northern Territory, [7] and as 'not threatened in Western Australia. [8]
Amaranthaceae is a family of flowering plants commonly known as the amaranth family, in reference to its type genus Amaranthus. It includes the former goosefoot family Chenopodiaceae and contains about 165 genera and 2,040 species, making it the most species-rich lineage within its parent order, Caryophyllales.
Sarcobatus is a North American genus of two species of flowering plants, formerly considered to be a single species. Common names for S. vermiculatus include greasewood, seepwood, and saltbush. Traditionally, Sarcobatus has been treated in the family Chenopodiaceae, but the APG III system of 2009 recognizes it as the sole genus in the family Sarcobataceae.
Atriplex semibaccata, commonly known as Australian saltbush, berry saltbush, or creeping saltbush, is a species of flowering plant in the family Amaranthaceae and is endemic to Australia. It is a perennial herb native to Western Australia, South Australia, Queensland and New South Wales, but has been introduced into other states and to overseas countries. It flowers and fruits in spring, and propagates from seed when the fruit splits open. This species of saltbush is adapted to inconsistent rainfall, temperature and humidity extremes and to poor soil. It is used for rehabilitation, medicine, as a cover crop and for fodder. Its introduction to other countries has had an environmental and economic impact on them.
Atriplex vesicaria, commonly known as bladder saltbush, is a species of flowering plant of the family Amaranthaceae and is endemic to arid and semi-arid inland regions of Australia. It is an upright or sprawling shrub with scaly leaves and separate male and female plants, the fruit often with a bladder-like appendage.
Krascheninnikovia is a genus of flowering plants in the subfamily Chenopodioideae of the family Amaranthaceae known as winterfat, so-called because it is a nutritious livestock forage. They are known from Eurasia and western North America. These are hairy perennials or small shrubs which may be monoecious or dioecious. They bear spike inflorescences of woolly flowers.
Atriplex patula is a ruderal, circumboreal species of annual herbaceous plant in the genus Atriplex naturalized in many temperate regions.
Enchylaena tomentosa, commonly known as barrier saltbush or ruby saltbush, is a small native shrub of Australia.
Atriplex nummularia is a species of saltbush from the family Amaranthaceae and is a large woody shrub known commonly as oldman saltbush. A. nummularia is native to Australia and occurs in each of the mainland states, thriving in arid and semi-arid inland regions.
Chenopodium curvispicatum is a species of plant in the family Amaranthaceae, endemic to Australia.
Halothamnus is a genus in the subfamily Salsoloideae of the family Amaranthaceae. The scientific name means saltbush, from the Greek ἅλς (hals) "salt" and θαμνος (thamnos) "bush". This refers either to salty habitats or to the accumulation of salt in the plants. The genus is distributed from Southwest and Central Asia to the Arabian peninsula and East Africa.
Bassia is a genus of flowering plants in the family Amaranthaceae. They are distributed in the western Mediterranean to eastern Asia. Some occur outside their native ranges as introduced species.
Atriplex nuttallii, also known as Nuttall's saltbush, is native to central and western North America. It has been treated by some botanists as a synonym of Atriplex canescens.
Bassia hyssopifolia is a species of flowering plant in the family Amaranthaceae, known by the common names five-horn smotherweed, five-hook bassia, and thorn orache. It is native to parts of Asia and Eastern Europe, and it is known on other continents as an introduced species, including North and South America and Australia. It is a weed, invasive at times.
Sclerolaena birchii, commonly known as galvanised burr, is a perennial shrub native to inland Australia.
Chenopodium spinescens is a species of plant in the family Amaranthaceae and is endemic to all mainland states and territories of Australia where it is known as Rhagodia spinescens.
Atriplex holocarpa is a low-growing species of Atriplex (saltbush) found throughout arid regions of Australia. A. holocarpa is commonly known as pop saltbush, because its carpals pop when stepped upon.
Atriplex stipitata, commonly known as mallee saltbush, bitter saltbush and kidney saltbush, is a species of shrub in the family Amaranthaceae, found in all mainland states of Australia.
Eriochiton is a genus of small shrubs in the family Chenopodiaceae, which are included in Amaranthaceae according to the APG classification. It contains a single species, Eriochiton sclerolaenoides, a subshrub endemic to Australia.
Atriplex angulata, commonly known as fan saltbush or angular saltbush, is a species of flowering plant in the family Amaranthaceae. It is an annual to short-lived perennial subshrub, native to Australia, distributed throughout drier parts of the mainland.
Sclerolaena parviflora is a species of flowering plant in the family Amaranthaceae, found in every mainland state and territory of Australia. It was first described in 1923 by Robert Henry Anderson as Bassia parviflora, but was transferred to the genus, Sclerolaena in 1978 by Andrew John Scott.