Maireana scleroptera
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Maireana scleroptera | |
|---|---|
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Tracheophytes |
| Clade: | Angiosperms |
| Clade: | Eudicots |
| Order: | Caryophyllales |
| Family: | Amaranthaceae |
| Genus: | Maireana |
| Species: | M. scleroptera |
| Binomial name | |
| Maireana scleroptera | |
| Synonyms[1] | |
|
Kochia scleroptera J.M.Black | |
Maireana scleroptera, commonly known as hard-wing bluebush,[2] is a species of flowering plant in the family Amaranthaceae and is endemic to arid parts of inland Australia. It is a prostrate to erect perennial with narrowly oblong to narrowly egg-shaped leaves, pairs of densely woolly bisexual flowers, and a cartilaginous to woody hemispherical fruiting perianth with five broadly oblong, horizontal wings.
Maireana scleroptera is a prostrate to erect perennial with a woody base, up to 30 cm (12 in) high with slender branches covered with woolly hairs. The leaves are arranged alternately, narrowly oblong to narrowly egg-shaped with the narrower end towards the base, usually 5–10 mm (0.20–0.39 in) long and covered with silky hairs to almost glabrous. The flowers are bisexual and arranged in pairs and densely woolly, with a convex, ribbed tube, about 2 mm (0.079 in) in diameter. The fruiting perianth has five cartilaginous, broadly oblong, horizontal wings 1–2 mm (0.039–0.079 in) long, the upper perianth open in the centre, thick and hard, forming a disc-shaped rim.[3][4]