Maireana pyramidata
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Maireana pyramidata | |
|---|---|
 | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Tracheophytes |
| Clade: | Angiosperms |
| Clade: | Eudicots |
| Order: | Caryophyllales |
| Family: | Amaranthaceae |
| Genus: | Maireana |
| Species: | M. pyramidata |
| Binomial name | |
| Maireana pyramidata | |
 | |
| Occurrence data for M. pyramidata from the AVH | |
| Synonyms[2] | |
Maireana pyramidata (sago bush,[3] black bluebush, shrubby bluebush[4]) is a species of flowering plant in family Amaranthaceae and is endemic to Australia, where it is found in all mainland states and the Northern Territory. It is a compact, dense, stiffly branched shrub with hairy, spreading leaves, mostly unisexual flowers and a pale brown to black fruiting perianth with a papery wing.
Maireana pyramidata is a compact, dense, stiffly branched shrub that typically grows to a height of 0.3–1.5 m (1 ft 0 in – 4 ft 11 in) and has woolly branchlets. Its leaves are arranged alternately, spreading, linear to narrowly lance-shaped, more or less terete, 2–6 mm (0.079–0.236 in) long and covered with fine, woolly hairs pressed against the surface. The flowers are mostly unisexual, (the plants frequently dioecious) and covered with woolly hairs. The fruiting perianth is pale brown to black when dry, the tube flat to top-shaped and thin-walled, the wing papery, horizontal and usually up to 12 mm (0.47 in) in diameter. The fruits mostly appear from August to November.[3][4][5][6]
Taxonomy and naming
This species was first formally described in 1870 by George Bentham who gave it the name Kochia pyramidata in his Flora Australiensis.[7][8] The species was reassigned to the genus Maireana as M. pyramidata Wilson in 1975.[6][9]
The specific epithet, pyramidata, refers to the pyramidal shape of the centre of the fruit.[10]
