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 (Benth.) Paul G.Wilson [1]
Distribution map of M. erioclada, according to verified spatial information from the Living Atlas of Australia, October 2022
Synonyms [1]
Kochia erioclada(Benth.) Gauba Kochia triptera var. eriocladaBenth.

Habit at Roxby Downs Station

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

1. "Maireana erioclada". Australian Plant Census. Retrieved 28 June 2025.
2. 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.
3. "Maireana erioclada". Seeds of South Australia. Retrieved 28 June 2025.
4. "Fact sheet for Maireana erioclada". flora.sa.gov.au. Retrieved 2022-10-23.
5. Victorian Resources Online, Agriculture Victoria. "Rosy Bluebush". vro.agriculture.vic.gov.au. Retrieved 2022-10-23.
6. Wilson, P.G. (1975). "A taxonomic revision of the genus Maireana (Chenopodiaceae)". Nuytsia: Journal of the Western Australian Herbarium. 2 (1): 39.
7. "Flora of Victoria". vicflora.rbg.vic.gov.au. Retrieved 2022-10-23.
8. "Kochia triptera var. erioclada". Australian Plant Name Index. Retrieved 28 June 2025.
9. Bentham, George (1870). Flora Australiensis. London: Lovell Reeves & Co. p. 185. Retrieved 28 June 2025.
10. "Maireana erioclada". Australian Plant Name Index. Retrieved 28 June 2025.
11. "Maireana erioclada". FloraBase . Western Australian Government Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions.
12. "PlantNET - FloraOnline". plantnet.rbgsyd.nsw.gov.au. Retrieved 2022-10-23.