Cotton Bush

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©Photo: Maree Goods via natureshare.org.au (CC BY 2.5 AU) , Photo: Maree Goods via natureshare.org.au (CC BY 2.5 AU)

Maireana aphylla

Hemispherical perennial shrub to 1.5 m high with slender spreading branches that become rigid with age. Often leafless or almost so. Succulent hairy leaves to 8 mm long and usually drought-deciduous. Single unisexual flowers.

Details
Flora Type
Chenopods
Other Common Names
Leafless Bluebush
Distinctive Features

Spines stout. Smooth fruit 7-8 mm diameter with horizontal wing of 8 mm diameter, pink when young, then brown.
Biology

Perennial. Separate male and female flowers on same plant. Widespread in low-lying seasonally inundated areas with heavy soils.
Native Status
Native
Flowering Time

Fruits Dec-Apr
Taxonomy
Phylum
Tracheophyta (Vascular Plants)
Class
Magnoliopsida (Flowering Plants)
Order
Caryophyllales
Family
Chenopodiaceae
Genus
Maireana
Species
aphylla

Source: Atlas of Living Australia

After the French botanist Charles Lemaire (1800-1871) who specialised in the Cacti family. The name Cotton Bush comes from the clusters of cotton-like galls caused by grubs that often occur on the branches.

Interesting Facts
Native Status
Native