Maireana cannonii

Maireana cannonii
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
Clade:	Tracheophytes
Clade:	Angiosperms
Clade:	Eudicots
Order:	Caryophyllales
Family:	Amaranthaceae
Genus:	Maireana
Species:	M. cannonii
Binomial name
Maireana cannonii (J.M.Black) Paul G.Wilson [1]

Maireana cannonii, commonly known as Cannon's bluebush, ^[2] is a species of flowering plant in the family Amaranthaceae and is endemic to South Australia. It is a small subshrub with many branches, sessile leaves arranged in opposite pairs, bisexual flowers arranged singly, and a crust-like, hemispherical fruiting perianth with a thin, horizontal wing.

Description

Maireana cannonii is a small, spreading or erect grey shrub or subshrub, its branchlets covered with woolly hairs. The leaves are arranged in opposite pairs and sessile, more or less circular in cross section, 5–6 mm (0.20–0.24 in) long and covered with silky hairs. The flowers are bisexual, with a short, hemispherical tube, about 2.5 mm (0.098 in) in diameter, with a thin, circular wing about 6 mm (0.24 in) in diameter with a radial slit. ^{[3] [4]}

Taxonomy and naming

This species was first formally described in 1919 by John McConnell Black who gave it the name Kochia cannonii in the Transactions and Proceedings of the Royal Society of South Australia , from specimens collected near Leigh Creek by William Austin Cannon in 1918. ^{[5] [6]} In 1975, Paul Wilson transferred the species to Maireana as M. cannonii in the journal Nuytsia . ^{[4] [7]}

Distribution

Maireana cannonii is found between Port Pirie and Leigh Creek in South Australia. ^{[3] [4]}

References

1. "Maireana cannonii". Australian Plant Census. Retrieved 25 May 2025.
2. "Species Information - Maireana cannonii". Seeds of South Australia. South Australia Seed Conservation Centre, Botanic Gardens Adelaide. Retrieved 25 May 2025.
3. Wilson, Paul G. "Maireana cannonii". Flora of Australia. Australian Biological Resources Study, Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water: Canberra. Retrieved 25 May 2025.
4. Wilson, Paul G. (1975). "A Taxonomic Revision of the genus Maireana (Chenopodiaceae)". Nuytsia. 2 (1): 42. doi:10.58828/nuy00028 . Retrieved 25 May 2025.
5. "Kochia cannonii". Australian Plant Name Index. Retrieved 25 May 2025.
6. Black, John M. (1919). "Additions to the Flora of South Australia. No. 15". Transactions and Proceedings of the Royal Society of South Australia. 43: 29–30. Retrieved 26 May 2025.
7. "Maireana cannonii". Australian Plant Name Index. Retrieved 25 May 2025.