Maireana melanocarpa

Maireana melanocarpa
Near Farina, South Australia
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
Clade:	Tracheophytes
Clade:	Angiosperms
Clade:	Eudicots
Order:	Caryophyllales
Family:	Amaranthaceae
Genus:	Maireana
Species:	M. melanocarpa
Binomial name
Maireana melanocarpa Paul G.Wilson [1]

Maireana melanocarpa, commonly known as black-fruit bluebush, ^[2] is a species of flowering plant in the family Amaranthaceae and is endemic to South Australia. It is a multi-branched shrub or subshrub with woolly branches, more or less terete woolly leaves, flowers arranged singly and a dark brown to black fruiting perianth with a horizontal wing with dark brown veins.

Description

Maireana melanocarpa is a multi-branched shrub or subshrub that typically grows to a height of up to about 50 cm (20 in) abd has woolly branches. The leaves are arranged alternately, semiterete, 3–5 mm (0.12–0.20 in) long, about 1 mm (0.039 in) wide and woolly. The flowers are arranged singly and the fruiting perianth is dark brown to black at maturity, with a shortly hemispherical tube about 2 mm (0.079 in) long and 1 mm (0.039 in) high, rigid and ribbed. The wing is horizontal, up to 6 mm (0.24 in) wide with dark brown veins with a radial slit. ^{[2] [3] [4]}

Taxonomy

Maireana melanocarpa was first formally described in 1975 by Paul Wilson in the journal Nuytsia from specimens collected on Mount Lyndhurst in 1955. ^[5] The specific epithet (melanocarpa) means 'black-fruited'. ^[6]

Distribution and habitat

Black-fruit bluebush grows in on sandy rises around salt lakes between Beltana and Lake Watherstone near Leigh Creek, west of the north Flinders Range. ^{[2] [4]}

References

1. "Maireana melanocarpa". Australian Plant Census. Retrieved 31 July 2025.
2. "Maireana melanocarpa". Seeds of South Australia. Retrieved 31 July 2025.
3. Wilson, Paul G. (1975). "A Taxonomic Revision of the genus Maireana (Chenopodiaceae)". Nuytsia. 2 (1): 52–53. Retrieved 31 July 2025.
4. Wilson, Paul G. "Maireana melanocarpa". Flora of Australia. Australian Biological Resources Study, Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water: Canberra. Retrieved 31 July 2025.
5. "Maireana melanocarpa". Australian Plant Name Index. Retrieved 31 July 2025.
6. George, Alex S.; Sharr, Francis A. (2023). Western Australian Plant Names and Their Meanings - A Glossary (fifth ed.). Kardinya: Four Gables Press. p. 258. ISBN   9780645629538.