Maireana glomerifolia

Maireana glomerifolia
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
Clade:	Tracheophytes
Clade:	Angiosperms
Clade:	Eudicots
Order:	Caryophyllales
Family:	Amaranthaceae
Genus:	Maireana
Species:	M. glomerifolia
Binomial name
Maireana glomerifolia (F.Muell. & Tate) Paul G.Wilson [1]
Synonyms [1]
Kochia glomerifoliaF.Muell. & Tate

Maireana glomerifolia, commonly known as ball-leaf bluebush, ^[2] is a species of flowering plant in the family Amaranthaceae and is endemic to Western Australia. It is a rigid, openly branched shrub with brittle, woolly branches covered with compact clusters of sessile, fleshy, woolly leaves, flowers in short spikes on the ends of branches, and a thin-walled, pink to red fruiting perianth with a simple, wavy wing.

Description

Maireana glomerifolia is arigid, openly-branched shrub that typically grows to a height of up to 60 cm (24 in) and has brittle branches covered with woolly hairs and compact clusters of leaves. The leaves are sessile, fleshy and woolly, those near the ends of the branches about 1.5 mm (0.059 in) long, otherwise minutes and in dense clusters known as "glomerules". The flowers are sessile and arranged in short wooly spikes and are polygamodioecious. The fruiting perianth is thin walled, pink to red at maturity, with a simple, wavy wing up to 15 mm (0.59 in) in diameter. ^{[2] [3] [4]}

Taxonomy

This species was first formally described in 1896 by Ferdinand von Mueller and Ralph Tate who gave it the name Kochia glomerifolia in Transactions, Proceedings and Report, Royal Society of South Australia . ^{[5] [6]} In 1975, Paul Wilson transferred the species to Maireana as M. glomerifolia in the journal Nuytsia . ^[7] The specific epithet (glomerifolia) means 'a ball of yarn leaved', referring to the leaves being in small, globular clusters. ^[8]

Distribution and habitat

Ball-leaf bluebush grows in stony soils or clay in saline or sub-saline areas and on rocky hillsides and claypans in the Avon Wheatbelt, Coolgardie, Gascoyne, Great Victoria Desert, Mallee, Murchison and Yalgoo bioregions of Western Australia. ^[4]

References

1. "Maireana glomerifolia". Australian Plant Census. Retrieved 10 July 2025.
2. Wilson, Paul G. "Maireana glomerifolia". Flora of Australia. Australian Biological Resources Study, Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water: Canberra. Retrieved 10 July 2025.
3. Wilson, Paul G. (1975). "A Taxonomic Revision of the genus Maireana (Chenopodiaceae)". Nuytsia. 2 (1): 43. Retrieved 10 July 2025.
4. "Maireana glomerifolia". FloraBase . Western Australian Government Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions.
5. "Kochia glomerifolia". Australian Plant Name Index. Retrieved 10 July 2025.
6. von Mueller, Ferdinand; Tate, Ralph (1896). "Botany. Phanerogams and Vascular Cryptogams". Transactions, proceedings and report, Royal Society of South Australia. 16 (3): 356–346. Retrieved 10 July 2025.
7. "Maireana glomerifolia". Australian Plant Name Index. Retrieved 10 July 2025.
8. George, Alex S.; Sharr, Francis A. (2023). Western Australian Plant Names and Their Meanings - A Glossary (fifth ed.). Kardinya: Four Gables Press. p. 212. ISBN   9780645629538.