Fruiting bodies and leaves. Photo: Don Wood, planted at Scotia Sanctuary, NSW

Shrub. Photo: Don Wood, planted at Scotia Sanctuary, NSW

Common Name

Low Bluebush

Family

Chenopodiaceae

Notes

Shrub or perennial forb to 1.5m tall.  Leaves succulent, alternating up the stems, 0.5-1cm long, flat, hairy.  Male and female flowers on different plants, also bisexual flowers.  Flowers tiny (less than 3mm across), solitary at the bases of the leaves.  Fruiting body red, pale to dark brown when dry, with a single hairless horizontal wing with one radial slit; the body of the fruiting body hairy. 

Differs from Maireana sedifolia in that the leaves are stalked, flowers are single, and the hairs (visible with a hand lens) are branched. 

Description (page 265),  photo (page 266) and line drawing of fruiting body (Fig. 47-3 page 271) 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=Maireana~astrotricha