Hairy Bluebush

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©Maireana pentagona - Maree Goods via Natureshare

Maireana pentagona

Prostrate or ascending perennial to 20cm high, with a woody base and a long fleshy taproot. Leaves linear, pointy, to 20mm long, hairy. Flowers solitary, bisexual. Fruit to 4 mm diameter, covered with woolly hairs, with a central raised pentagonal area surrounded at its base by a narrow wing.

Details
Flora Type
Chenopods
Other Common Names
Slender Fissure-weed
Distinctive Features

Herb to 20 cm with hairy fruit with a raised pentagonal area.
Biology

Perennial. Widespread, especially on heavier red and brown soils. Very common in most of its habitats. Fire resistant.
Native Status
Native
Taxonomy
Phylum
Tracheophyta (Vascular Plants)
Class
Magnoliopsida (Flowering Plants)
Order
Caryophyllales
Family
Chenopodiaceae
Genus
Maireana
Species
pentagona

Source: Atlas of Living Australia

Perennial. The long hairs of the fruits help anchor the fruits on bare soil, and the prostrate stems and hairy trap soil and seed. After the French botanist Charles Lemaire (1800-1871) who specialised in the Cacti family.

Interesting Facts
Native Status
Native