Maireana spongiocarpa
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Maireana spongiocarpa | |
|---|---|
 | |
| In the Australian National Botanic Gardens | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Tracheophytes |
| Clade: | Angiosperms |
| Clade: | Eudicots |
| Order: | Caryophyllales |
| Family: | Amaranthaceae |
| Genus: | Maireana |
| Species: | M. spongiocarpa |
| Binomial name | |
| Maireana spongiocarpa | |
| Synonyms[1] | |
|
Kochia spongiocarpa F.Muell. | |
Maireana spongiocarpa, commonly known as spongy-fruit bluebush,[2] is a species of flowering plant in the family Amaranthaceae and is endemic to Central Australia. It is a small shrub with thin woolly branches, well-spaced fleshy, narrowly terete or spindle-shaped leaves, bisexual flowers and a soft, easily crushed fruiting perianth with a broadly top-shaped, spongy, swollen tube with a horizontal wing.
Maireana spongiocarpa is a spreading or erect subshrub that typically grows to a height of about 30 cm (12 in) and has thin branches densely covered with woolly hairs. Its leaves are well-spaced, fleshy narrowly terete or spindle-shaped, fleshy, 8–15 mm (0.31–0.59 in) long. The flowers are bisexual, arranged singly and glabrous except for the margins of perianth lobes. The fruiting perianth is glabrous and dark brown when dry, the tube spongy, swollen and more or less spherical, about 8 mm (0.31 in) high and wide. The wing is horizontal, 12–15 mm (0.47–0.59 in) in diameter.[3][4][5][6]