Maireana

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Maireana
Maireana sedifolia 1.jpg
Maireana sedifolia
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Order: Caryophyllales
Family: Amaranthaceae
Subfamily: Camphorosmoideae
Tribe: Camphorosmeae
Genus: Maireana
Moq. [1]
Synonyms [1]
List
    • Bassia sect. Maireana(Moq.) Volkens
    • Bassia sect. SpinosissimaeIsing
    • Duriala(R.H.Anderson) Ulbr.
    • Enchylaena sect. HeterochlamysF.Muell.
    • HeterochlamysF.Muell. nom. inval., nom. nud.
    • Kochia sect. AustrokochiaUlbr.
    • Kochia sect. DurialaR.H.Anderson nom. inval.
    • Kochia sect. Maireana(Moq.) F.Muell.
    • Kochiaauct. non Roth: Brown, R. (27 March 1810)
    • Kochiaauct. non Roth: Bentham, G. (1870), Flora Australiensis
    • Kochiaauct. non Roth: Black, J.M. (January 1948), Casuarinaceae-Euphorbiaceae. Flora of South Australia
    • Kochiaauct. non Roth: Willis, J.H. (1973), A Handbook to Plants in Victoria
Fruit of Maireana georgei Maireana georgei - Flickr - Kevin Thiele.jpg
Fruit of Maireana georgei

Maireana is a genus of around 58 species of flowering plants commonly known as bluebushes, [2] in the family Amaranthaceae that are endemic to Australia. Plants in the genus Maireana are herbaceous to woody perennial plants or small shrubs with often fleshy or succulent leaves, sessile flowers with five petals and five stamens, and the fruit is a utricle containing a single seed.

Contents

Description

Plants in the genus Maireana are herbaceous to woody perennials or small shrubs that are glabrous or sometimes covered with woolly hairs. The leaves are globe-shaped to terete or narrowly oblong, often fleshy or succulent. The flowers are sessile, arranged singly or in pairs in leaf axils and are dioecious or hermaphrodite with five petals and five stamens opposite the petals. The ovary is more or less spherical with a short style and two or three linear stigmas. The perianth of the fruit has a wing, sometimes divided into separate leathery wings, at the base lobes that more or less obscure the utricle. The utricle is disc-like, top-shaped or spherical and contains a single seed. [3] [4] [2] [5]

Taxonomy

The genus Maireana was first formally described in 1840 by the botanist, Moquin-Tandon and named to honour Joseph François Maire (1780–1867), an amateur botanist who befriended him during the author's first visit to Paris in 1834. [6] [7] [8] [2] [9] [10] The type species is Maireana tomentosa . [11]

Distribution

Species of Maireana, known as bluebushes, are found in all mainland states of Australia. [1]

Species list

The following species of Maireana are accepted by the Australian Plant Census as at April 2025: [12]

References

  1. 1 2 3 "Maireana". Australian Plant Census. Retrieved 17 April 2025.
  2. 1 2 3 "FloraBase Maireana". the Western Australian flora. Western Australian Herbarium, Biodiversity and Conservation Science, Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions. Retrieved 10 July 2018.
  3. ↑ Wilson, Paul G. (1975). "A Taxonomic Revision of the genus Maireana (Chenopodiaceae)". Nuytsia. 2 (1): 14–15. Retrieved 17 April 2025.
  4. ↑ Wilson, Paul G. ""Maireana"". Flora of Australia. Australian Biological Resources Study, Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water: Canberra. Retrieved 17 April 2025.
  5. ↑ Jocobs, Surrey Wilfrid Laurance. "Genus Maireana". Royal Botanic Garden, Sydney. Retrieved 17 April 2025.
  6. ↑ Moquin-Tandon, A. (1840). Chenopodearum monographica enumeratio.
  7. ↑ Fournier, Eugene, Rapport sur l'herbier de M. le Docteur E. Cosson. (1867)
  8. ↑ Elliot, Rodger W.; Jones, David L.; Blake, Trevor (1993). Encyclopaedia of Australian Plants Suitable for Cultivation: Volume 6 - K-M. Port Melbourne: Lothian Press. p. 279. ISBN   0-85091-589-9.
  9. ↑ Moquin-Tandon, A. (1841). "De genere Maireana". Annales des sciences naturelles. Série 2. 15: 96–98.
  10. ↑ Moquin-Tandon, Alfred. Marcel Rolland(editor.) Un naturaliste à Paris sous Louis-Philippe: journal de voyage inédit (1834) 1944.
  11. ↑ "APNI Maireana Moq". Australian Plant Name Index. IBIS database. Centre for Biodiversity. Commonwealth of Australia. Retrieved 7 July 2018.
  12. ↑ "Maireana". Australian Plant Census. Retrieved 17 April 2025.
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