Maireana ciliata

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Maireana ciliata
Maireana ciliata.jpg
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Order: Caryophyllales
Family: Amaranthaceae
Genus: Maireana
Species:
M. ciliata
Binomial name
Maireana ciliata
Synonyms [1]

Kochia ciliataF.Muell.

Maireana ciliata, commonly known as fissure weed [2] or hairy bluebush, [3] is a species of flowering plant in the family Amaranthaceae and is endemic to Australia. It is a low-lying to erect perennial with woolly branches, narrowly oblong leaves, bisexual, densely hairy flowers arranged singly, and a hairy, lens-shaped, winged fruiting perianth.

Contents

Description

Maireana ciliata is a low-lying to erect or spreading perennial plant that typically grows to a height of up to 15 cm (5.9 in) high with a woody base and thin, woolly branches. Its leaves are arranged alternately along the branches, linear to narrowly oblong, about 10 mm (0.39 in) long and covered with silky hairs. The flowers are bisexual and arranged singly or in leafy spikes, the fruiting perianth lens-shaped, about 3 mm (0.12 in) in diameter with 5 radial ridges, and covered with silky hairs. Flowering occurs from April to November. [2] [3] [4] [5] [6]

Taxonomy

This species was first formally described in 1858 by Ferdinand von Mueller who gave it the name Kochia ciliata in a Report on the Plants Collected During Mr. Babbage's Expedition into the North West Interior of South Australia in 1858 in the Victorian Government Parliamentary Papers. [7] In 1975, Paul Wilson transferred the species to Maireana as M. ciliata, in the journal Nuytsia . [8] The specific epithet (ciliata) means 'fringed with fine hairs'. [9]

Distribution and habitat

Maireana ciliata mainly grows on calcareous soils and is found in central and north-eastern South Australia, [3] the south of the Northern Territory, [10] far western New South Wales, [2] far north-western Victoria [6] and in Queensland. [4] The species has been introduced to the Cape Provinces of South Africa. [11]

References

  1. 1 2 "Maireana ciliata". Australian Plant Census. Retrieved 29 May 2025.
  2. 1 2 3 Jacobs, Surrey Wilfrid Laurance. "Maireana ciliata". Royal Botanic Garden, Sydney. Retrieved 5 June 2025.
  3. 1 2 3 "Maireana ciliata". Seeds of South Australia. Retrieved 5 June 2025.
  4. 1 2 Wilson, Paul G. "Maireana ciliata". Flora of Australia. Australian Biological Resources Study, Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water: Canberra. Retrieved 5 June 2025.
  5. ↑ Wilson, Paul G. (1975). "A Taxonomic Revision of the genus Maireana (Chenopodiaceae)". Nuytsia. 2 (1): 27. Retrieved 5 June 2025.
  6. 1 2 Messina, Andre; Stajsic, Val. "Maireana ciliata". Royal Botanic Gardens Victoria. Retrieved 5 June 2025.
  7. ↑ "Kochia ciliata". Australian Plant Name Index. Retrieved 4 June 2025.
  8. ↑ "Maireana ciliata". Australian Plant Name Index. Retrieved 4 June 2025.
  9. ↑ George, Alex; Sharr, Francis (2021). Western Australian Plant Names and Their Meanings (3rd ed.). Kardinya, WA: Four Gables Press. p. 163. ISBN   9780958034180.
  10. ↑ "Maireana ciliata". Northern Territory Government. Retrieved 5 June 2025.
  11. ↑ "Maireana ciliata". Plants of the World Online. Retrieved 5 June 2025.
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