Maireana luehmannii
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| Maireana luehmannii | |
|---|---|
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Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Tracheophytes |
| Clade: | Angiosperms |
| Clade: | Eudicots |
| Order: | Caryophyllales |
| Family: | Amaranthaceae |
| Genus: | Maireana |
| Species: | M. luehmannii |
| Binomial name | |
| Maireana luehmannii | |
| Synonyms[1] | |
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Maireana luehmannii, commonly known as Luehman's bluebush,[2] is a species of flowering plant in the family Amaranthaceae and is endemic to Australia. It is an erect, widely branched perennial herb, shrub or subshrub with woolly branches when young, fleshy, egg-shaped leaves, and pairs of bisexual flowers, the fruiting perianth flattened with five wings divided into two or more spiny lobes.
Maireana luehmannii is an erect, widely branched perennial herb, shrub or subshrub that typically grows to a height of up to 40 cm (16 in) and has branches covered with woolly hairs when young. Its leaves are arranged alternately, fleshy, egg-shaped with the narrower ends towards the base, 2–13 mm (0.079–0.512 in) long and 1.5–3.5 mm (0.059–0.138 in) wide, and covered with short, silky hairs. The flowers are bisexual, arranged in pairs in leaf axils. The fruiting perianth is almost woody, 5–12 mm (0.20–0.47 in) wide, the upper perianth flat with five wings 2–3 mm (0.079–0.118 in) long, often irregularly curved and divided into two or more spiny lobes.[3][4][5]
Taxonomy
This species was first described in 1890 by Ferdinand von Mueller who gave it the name Bassia luehmannii in The Victorian Naturalist from specimens collected near the Finke River by "Rev. W.F.Schwarz".[6][7] In 1975, Paul G. Wilson transferred the species to Maireana as M. luehmannii in the journal Nuytsia.[3][8] The specific epithet (luehmannii) honours Johann George Luehmann.[9]