Burrs and leaves. Photo: Don Wood, Scotia Sanctuary, NSW

Young burrs and leaves. Australian Plant Image Index, photo: Murray Fagg, Maud Road 30km west of Hay, NSW

Fruiting plant. Photo: Don Wood, Scotia Sanctuary, NSW

Common Name

Cannon Ball; Cannonball Burr; Ball Bindyi; Curious Saltbush,; Hard-head Bassia

Family

Chenopodiaceae

Notes

Annual or short lived perennial forb or shrub to 50cm tall or prostrate.  Leaves 0.5-1.5cm long, usually less than 3mm wide, flattened cylindrical, hairy.  Flowers small (less than 3mm across), in white woolly heads of 8-16 flowers at the bases of the leaves.  Flower heads and fruiting bodies spherical, woolly; with many spines.

Description and photo (as Bassia paradoxa var. paradoxa) (page 255) and line drawing of burr (Fig. 46-24 page 253) in G.M. Cunningham, WE Mulham, PL Milthorpe and J H Leigh (1981 and later printings) Plants of Western New South Wales

PlantNET description:  http://plantnet.rbgsyd.nsw.gov.au/cgi-bin/NSWfl.pl?page=nswfl&lvl=sp&name=Dissocarpus~paradoxus