Maireana suaedifolia

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Maireana suaedifolia
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Order: Caryophyllales
Family: Amaranthaceae
Genus: Maireana
Species:
M. suaedifolia
Binomial name
Maireana suaedifolia
(Paul G.Wilson) Paul G.Wilson
Synonyms [1]

Kochia suaedifoliaPaul G.Wilson

Maireana suaedifolia, commonly known as lax bluebush, [2] is a species of flowering plant in the family Amaranthaceae, native to Western Australia and South Australia. [1] It is a weak, spreading, dark bluish green shrub with slender, glaucous branches, fleshy leaves narrowed at the base, bisexual flowers arranged singly and a glabrous perianth with a thin, papery wing with a single radial slit.

Contents

Description

Maireana suaedifolia is a weak, spreading, dark bluish green shrub that typically grows to a height of up to 50 cm (20 in) and has slender, striated, glaucous branches. Its leaves are arranged alternately, well spaced, fleshy and narrowed at the base. The leaves on the fruiting branchlets are spindle-shaped, about 5 mm (0.20 in) long, and those on the main branches are terete and up to 25 mm (0.98 in) long. The flowers are bisexual and arranged singly, the fruiting perianth glabrous, with a short hemispherical, thin-walled tube. The wing is thin, horizontal with a single radial slit, 8–12 mm (0.31–0.47 in) in diameter. [2] [3]

Taxonomy

This species was first formally described in 1965 by Paul G. Wilson who gave it the name Kochia suaedifolia in the Supplement to J.M.Black's Flora of South Australia (Second Edition, 1943-1957) from specimens collected near the Ooldea Soak in 1951. [4] In 1975, Wilson transferred the species to Maireana as M. suaedifolia in the journal Nuytsia . [3] [5] The specific epithet (suaedifolia) means Suaeda -leaved. [6]

Distribution and habitat

Maireana suaedifolia grows on sand dunes around salt lakes and on alluvial plains in the Avon Wheatbelt, Coolgardie, Esperance Plains, Gascoyne, Great Victoria Desert, Mallee, Murchison, Pilbara and Yalgoo bioregions of Western Australia [7] and the Eyre Yorke Block, Gawler, Great Victoria Desert and Murray Darling Depression of South Australia. [8]

Conservation status

This species of Maireana is listed as "not threatened" by the Government of Western Australia Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions. [7] It is widely distributed but apparently now rare, probably due to its being readily eaten by stock. [3]

References

  1. 1 2 "Maireana suaedifolia (Paul G.Wilson) Paul G.Wilson". Plants of the World Online . Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew . Retrieved 28 August 2022.
  2. 1 2 Wilson, Paul G. "Maireana suaedifolia". Flora of Australia. Australian Biological Resources Study, Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water: Canberra. Retrieved 21 November 2025.
  3. 1 2 3 Wilson, Paul G. (1975). "A Taxonomic Revision of the genus Maireana (Chenopodiaceae)". Nuytsia. 2 (1): 45. Retrieved 21 November 2025.
  4. ↑ "Kochia suaedifolia". Australian Plant Name Index. Retrieved 21 November 2025.
  5. ↑ "Maireana suaedifolia". Australian Plant Name Index. Retrieved 21 November 2025.
  6. ↑ George, Alex; Sharr, Francis (2021). Western Australian Plant Names and Their Meanings (3rd ed.). Kardinya, WA: Four Gables Press. p. 327. ISBN   9780958034180.
  7. 1 2 "Maireana suaedifolia". FloraBase . Western Australian Government Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions.
  8. ↑ "Maireana suaedifolia". Seeds of South Australia. Retrieved 22 November 2025.
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