Plants of
South Australia
Maireana campanulata
Amaranthaceae
Bell-fruit Bluebush
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Arkaroola
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Hawker
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Botanical art

Kath Alcock painting: 1

Etymology

'Maireana', after the 19th century French botanist, Adolphe Lemaire, 'campanulata', meaning bell-shaped, pertaining to the fruit shape.

Distribution and status

Found on rocky slopes or well-drained, stony soils in the Flinders Ranges region and northern areas of the State. Native, also recorded in Northern Territory, Queensland and New South Wales.
Herbarium regions: North Western, Lake Eyre, Flinders Ranges
NRM regions: Alinytjara Wilurara, South Australian Arid Lands
AVH map: SA distribution map (external link)

Plant description

Small shrub to 60 cm high; branchlets with pale-fawn curled, shortly-branched hairs; leaves slender, 8-15 mm long, fleshy, glaucous and glabrous. Flowers solitary; bisexual, glabrous.
Fruits are fruiting perianth glabrous; tube cup-shaped and spongy; wing thin, horizontal; entire, very narrow, approximately 10 mm diameter with no radial slit. Fruits and flowers July to November. Seeds are seed ellipsoid - ovoid, convex brown seed Seed embryo type is peripheral

Seed collection and propagation

Collect seeds between July and November. Collect dry, papery fruits. Check that they contain well-developed seeds before making a collection. Shake or strip fruits into a vessel. Remove twigs and other plant material.

Seeds stored:
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LocationNo. of seeds
(weight grams)
Number
of plants
Date
collected
Collection number
Collection location
Date
stored
% ViabilityStorage
temperature
BGA 
MSB
1,700 (38.89 g)
1,700 (38.89 g)
26-Aug-2008DJD1110
Lake Eyre
20-Jul-200980%-18°C
BGA 
MSB
3,150 (19.22 g)
3,150 (19.22 g)
100+29-Aug-2008DJD1156
Lake Eyre
20-Jul-200995%-18°C
Location: BGA — the seeds are stored at the Adelaide Botanic Gardens, MSB — the seeds are stored at the Millennium Seed Bank, Kew, England.
Number of plants: This is the number of plants from which the seeds were collected.
Collection location: The Herbarium of South Australia's region name.
% Viability: Percentage of filled healthy seeds determined by a cut test or x-ray.