Fruiting bodies and leaves. Photo: Russell Best, Murray Sunset National Park, Vic

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

Shrub. Photo: Don Wood, Scotia Sanctuary, NSW

Common Name

Grey Bluebush

Family

Chenopodiaceae

Notes

Shrub or perennial forb to 30cm tall.  Leaves succulent, alternating up the stems, 0.2-0.5cm long, flat to flattened narrow cylindrical, hairy to sparsely hairy.  Male and female flowers on different plants. Flowers tiny (less than 3mm across), solitary at the bases of the leaves.  Fruiting body yellow, orange, pink, or brown, with a single hairless horizontal wing with one radial slit, the upper body hairy. the lower body hairless.

Description (page 273) and line drawing of fruiting body (Fig. 47-25 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~radiata