Maireana melanocoma

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

Maireana melanocoma, commonly known as pussy bluebush ^[2] is a species of flowering plant in the family Amaranthaceae and is endemic to the north-west of Western Australia. It is weak, diffuse, much-branched, mostly glabrous shrub with slender branches, more or less terete to spindle-shaped leaves, flowers in spike-like groups, and a glabrous pale green to gold or pale red fruiting perianth that turns black as it ages, with a horizontal wing covered with erect, hair-like processes.

Description

Maireana melanocoma is a weak, diffuse, mostly glabrous, much-branched shrub with slender, striated branches and that typically grows to a height of up to 50 cm (20 in). The leaves are more or less terete to narrowly spindle-shaped, 10–20 mm (0.39–0.79 in) long with a sharp point. The flowers are arranged singly, but clustered in glabrous, spike-like clusters on the ends of branches. The fruiting perianth is glabrous, pale green to gold or pale red at first, later turning black, with a convex, thick-walled tube with a simple horizontal wing 12–16 mm (0.47–0.63 in) in diameter, the upper perianth covered with many erect, hair-like processes up to 6 mm (0.24 in) long. ^{[2] [3] [4]}

Taxonomy

This species was first formally described in 1882 by Ferdinand von Mueller who gave it the name Kochia melanocoma in his Fragmenta Phytographiae Australiae . ^{[5] [6]} In 1975, Paul Wilson transferred the species to Maireana as M. melanocoma in the journal Nuytsia . ^[7] The specific epithet (melanocoma) means 'black hair', referring to the black, hair-like processes on the fruiting perianth. ^[8]

Distribution and habitat

Pussy bluebush grows in clay loam and rocky soils on hillslopes and a variety of other habitats in the Carnarvon, Gascoyne, Great Victoria Desert, Little Sandy Desert, Murchison and Pilbara bioregions of north-western Western Australia. ^{[2] [4]}

References

1. "Maireana melanocoma". Australian Plant Census. Retrieved 4 August 2025.
2. Wilson, Paul G. "Maireana melanocoma". Flora of Australia. Australian Biological Resources Study, Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water: Canberra. Retrieved 4 August 2025.
3. Wilson, Paul G. (1975). "A Taxonomic Revision of the genus Maireana (Chenopodiaceae)". Nuytsia. 2 (1): 42. Retrieved 4 August 2025.
4. "Maireana melanocoma". FloraBase . Western Australian Government Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions.
5. "Kochia melanocoma". Australian Plant Name Index. Retrieved 4 August 2025.
6. von Mueller, Ferdinand (1882). "Kochia melanocoma". Fragmenta Phytographiae Australiae. 12 (94): 14. Retrieved 4 August 2025.
7. "Maireana melanocoma". Australian Plant Name Index. Retrieved 4 August 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. 258. ISBN   9780645629538.