Maireana pentagona

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Maireana pentagona
Maireana pentagona Fagg.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. pentagona
Binomial name
Maireana pentagona
Synonyms [1]
  • Kochia pentagonaR.H.Anderson
  • Chenolea pentagona(R.H.Anderson) Ewart
Habit near Dimboola Maireana pentagona.jpg
Habit near Dimboola

Maireana pentagona, commonly known as hairy bluebush or slender fissure-weed, [2] is a species of flowering plant in the family Amaranthaceae, and is endemic to Australia. It is a prostrate to low-lying perennial with woolly branches, densely hairy linear leaves, flowers arranged singly and a woolly fruiting perianth, the upper surface with a thick, hard ridge.

Contents

Description

Maireana pentagona is prostrate to low-lying or ascending perennial shrub that typically grows to a height of about 10 cm (3.9 in), its branches covered with woolly hairs. Its leaves are linear, mostly 7–12 mm (0.28–0.47 in) long and densely covered with shaggy hairs but often becoming glabrous with age. The flowers are densely hairy and arranged singly, sometimes in leafy spikes or scattered along branches. The fruiting perianth is covered with shaggy hairs, pentagonal in outline, 2.5–4 mm (0.098–0.157 in) in diameter, the lower surface convex with a narrow wing, and the upper surface with a thick, hard ridge. [2] [3] [4] [5] [6]

Taxonomy

This species was first formally described in 1926 by Robert Henry Anderson, who gave it the name Kochia pentagona in Proceedings of the Linnean Society of New South Wales from specimens collected by Albert Morris near Trangie in 1924. [7] [8] In 1975, Paul G. Wilson transferred the species to Maireana as M. pentagona in the journal Nuytsia . [3] [9] The specific epithet (pentagona) means 'five-angled', referring to the fruiting perianth. [10]

Distribution and habitat

Maireana pentagona usually grows in heavy soil and is found on the western slopes and plains of New South Wales, [4] north-western Victoria, [5] south-eastern South Australia, often in large numbers on the Murray River floodplain, and less commonly in Queensland and north of Carnarvon in Western Australia. [6] [11]

References

  1. 1 2 "Maireana pentagona". Australian Plant Census. Retrieved 29 August 2025.
  2. 1 2 Wilson, Paul G. "Maireana pentagona". Flora of Australia. Australian Biological Resources Study, Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water: Canberra. Retrieved 29 August 2025.
  3. 1 2 Wilson, Paul G. (1975). "A Taxonomic Revision of the genus Maireana (Chenopodiaceae)". Nuytsia. 2 (1): 27. Retrieved 30 August 2025.
  4. 1 2 Jacobs, Surrey Wilfrid Laurance. "Maireana pentagona". Royal Botanic Garden, Sydney. Retrieved 30 August 2025.
  5. 1 2 Walsh, Neville G.; Stajsic, Val. "Maireana pentagona". Royal Botanic Gardens Victoria. Retrieved 30 August 2025.
  6. 1 2 "Maireana pentagona". Seeds of South Australia. Retrieved 30 August 2025.
  7. ↑ "Kochia pentagona". Australian Plant Name Index. Retrieved 30 August 2025.
  8. ↑ Anderson, Robert henry (1926). "A Revision of certain Australian Chenopodiaceae". Proceedings of the Linnean Society of New South Wales. 51 (3): 385–386. Retrieved 30 August 2025.
  9. ↑ "Maireana pentagona". Australian Plant Name Index. Retrieved 30 August 2025.
  10. ↑ George, Alex S.; Sharr, Francis A. (2023). Western Australian Plant Names and Their Meanings - A Glossary (fifth ed.). Kardinya: Four Gables Press. p. 283. ISBN   9780645629538.
  11. ↑ "Maireana pentagona". FloraBase . Western Australian Government Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions.
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