Maireana planifolia

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Maireana planifolia
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Order: Caryophyllales
Family: Amaranthaceae
Genus: Maireana
Species:
M. planifolia
Binomial name
Maireana planifolia
Synonyms [1]
  • Kochia planifoliaF.Muell.
  • Kochia tomentosa var. platyphylla Ising

Maireana planifolia, commonly known as low bluebush [2] is a species of flowering plant in the family Amaranthaceae, and is endemic to western parts of Australia. It is an openly-branched shrub with woolly branches, flattened, egg-shaped leaves, flowers arranged singly or in pairs, and a straw-coloured fruiting perianth with a translucent horizontal wing.

Contents

Description

Maireana planifolia is an openly-branched shrub that typically grows to a height of about 1 m (3 ft 3 in), its branches covered with woolly hairs. Its leaves are narrowly egg-shaped with the narrower end towards the base, mostly 8–15 mm (0.31–0.59 in) long and covered with soft hairs pressed against the surface. The flowers are arranged singly or in pairs and are glabrous. The fruiting perianth is straw-coloured to pale brown with a top-shaped, thin-walled tube, and a translucent horizontal wing 10–14 mm (0.39–0.55 in) in diameter. [2] [3] [4] [5] [6]

Taxonomy

This species was first formally described in 1859 by Ferdinand von Mueller who gave it the name in his Kochia planifolia in his Fragmenta Phytographiae Australiae from specimens collected by Augustus Oldfield. [7] [8] In 1975, Paul G. Wilson transferred the species to Maireana as M. planifolia in the journal Nuytsia . [3] [9] The specific epithet (planifolia) means 'flat-leaved', referring to the fruiting perianth. [10]

Distribution and habitat

Low bluebush grows on the rocky slopes of hills in sand and in mulga scrub between latitudes 22°S and 31°S in Western Australia, in the southern half of the Northern Territory and in the north of South Australia. [6] [4] [5]

References

  1. 1 2 "Maireana planifolia". Australian Plant Census. Retrieved 3 September 2025.
  2. 1 2 Wilson, Paul G. "Maireana planifolia". Flora of Australia. Australian Biological Resources Study, Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water: Canberra. Retrieved 3 September 2025.
  3. 1 2 Wilson, Paul G. (1975). "A Taxonomic Revision of the genus Maireana (Chenopodiaceae)". Nuytsia. 2 (1): 52. Retrieved 4 September 2025.
  4. 1 2 "Maireana planifolia". Northern Territory Government. Retrieved 4 September 2025.
  5. 1 2 "Maireana planifolia". Seeds of South Australia. Retrieved 4 September 2025.
  6. 1 2 "Maireana planifolia". FloraBase . Western Australian Government Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions.
  7. ↑ von Mueller, Ferdinand (1859). Fragmenta Phytographiae Australiae. Melbourne: Victorian Government Printer. p. 213. Retrieved 4 September 2025.
  8. ↑ "Kochia planifolia". Australian Plant Name Index. Retrieved 3 September 2025.
  9. ↑ "Maireana planifolia". Australian Plant Name Index. Retrieved 4 September 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. 288. ISBN   9780645629538.
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