Maireana spongiocarpa

Maireana spongiocarpa
In the Australian National Botanic Gardens
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
Clade:	Tracheophytes
Clade:	Angiosperms
Clade:	Eudicots
Order:	Caryophyllales
Family:	Amaranthaceae
Genus:	Maireana
Species:	M. spongiocarpa
Binomial name
Maireana spongiocarpa (F.Muell.)Paul G.Wilson [1]
Synonyms [1]
Kochia spongiocarpaF.Muell.

Maireana spongiocarpa, commonly known as spongy-fruit bluebush, ^[2] is a species of flowering plant in the family Amaranthaceae and is endemic to Central Australia. It is a small shrub with thin woolly branches, well-spaced fleshy, narrowly terete or spindle-shaped leaves, bisexual flowers and a soft, easily crushed fruiting perianth with a broadly top-shaped, spongy, swollen tube with a horizontal wing.

Description

Maireana spongiocarpa is a spreading or erect subshrub that typically grows to a height of about 30 cm (12 in) and has thin branches densely covered with woolly hairs. Its leaves are well-spaced, fleshy narrowly terete or spindle-shaped, fleshy, 8–15 mm (0.31–0.59 in) long. The flowers are bisexual, arranged singly and glabrous except for the margins of perianth lobes. The fruiting perianth is glabrous and dark brown when dry, the tube spongy, swollen and more or less spherical, about 8 mm (0.31 in) high and wide. The wing is horizontal, 12–15 mm (0.47–0.59 in) in diameter. ^{[3] [4] [5] [6]}

Taxonomy and naming

This species was first formally described in 1887 by Ferdinand von Mueller, who gave it the name Kochia spongiocarpa in The Victorian Naturalist . ^{[7] [8]} In 1975, Paul G. Wilson transferred the species to Maireana as M. spongiocarpa in the journal Nuytsia . ^{[3] [9]}

Distribution and habitat

Spongy-fruit bluebush is found in south-western Queensland, north-western New South Wales, the south of the Northern Territory and north-eastern South Australia and occurs on gravelly rises, low hills and breakaways. ^{[4] [5] [6]}

References

1. "Maireana schistocarpa". Australian Plant Census. Retrieved 9 November 2025.
2. "Maireana spongiocarpa". Seeds of South Australia. Retrieved 10 November 2025.
3. Wilson, Paul G. (1975). "A Taxonomic Revision of the genus Maireana (Chenopodiaceae)". Nuytsia. 2 (1): 37. Retrieved 10 November 2025.
4. Wilson, Paul G. "Maireana spongiocarpa". Flora of Australia. Australian Biological Resources Study, Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water: Canberra. Retrieved 10 November 2025.
5. Jacobs, Surrey Wilfrid Laurance. "Maireana spongiocarpa". Royal Botanic Garden, Sydney. Retrieved 14 October 2025.
6. "Maireana spongiocarpa". Northern Territory Government. Retrieved 10 November 2025.
7. "Kochia spongiocarpa". Australian Plant Name Index. Retrieved 9 November 2025.
8. von Mueller, Ferdinand (1887). "Descriptions of new Australian plants". The Victorian Naturalist. 3 (7): 92. Retrieved 10 November 2025.
9. "Maireana spongiocarpa". Australian Plant Name Index. Retrieved 10 November 2025.