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

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

Shrub. Photo: Don Wood, Scotia Sanctuary, NSW

Common Name

Cottony Saltbush

Family

Chenopodiaceae

Notes

Shrub to 1m tall.  Leaves mostly alternating along the stems, sometimes with basal lobes, 1-2cm long and wide, flat, hairy and mealy, shovel shaped, often lobed at the base, with entire edges.  Flowers tiny (less than 3mm across), male, female, and bisexual flowers on one plant, blue grey on the outside, deep red inside. Flowers at first in clusters or spikes, later in drooping panicles.  Fruit yellow to red.

Description and photo (as Rhagodia gaudichaudiana) in G.M. Cunningham, WE Mulham, PL Milthorpe and J H Leigh (1981 and later printings) Plants of Western New South Wales page 277

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