Plants of
South Australia
Maireana georgei
Amaranthaceae
Slit-wing Bluebush,
Satiny Bluebush
Display all 24 images
Regional Species Conservation Assessments per IBRA subregion.
Least concern
Near threatened
Rare
Vulnerable
Endangered
Critically endangered
Extinct
Data deficient
Adelaide
Arkaroola
Ceduna
Coober Pedy
Hawker
Innamincka
Marla
Marree
Mount Gambier
Oodnadatta
Renmark
Wudinna
Keith
Yunta
Enlarge Map
•
Copy Map
Copy Map
Display IBRA region text

Botanical art

Kath Alcock paintings: 3

Prior names

Kochia georgei

Common names

Slit-wing Bluebush

Satiny Bluebush

Etymology

'Maireana', after the 19th century French botanist, Adolphe Lemaire and 'georgei' after W.J George who collected the type specimen from Victoria in 1902.

Distribution and status

Found in a range of vegetation types, sometimes found growing near salt lakes. Found across mainland South Australia, excluding coastal areas. Native, common in South Australia, common in all mainland States apart from Victoria.
Herbarium regions: North Western, Lake Eyre, Nullarbor, Gairdner-Torrens, Flinders Ranges, Eastern, Eyre Peninsula, Northern Lofty, Murray
AVH map: SA distribution map (external link)

Plant description

Compact rounded shrub to 50 cm high; branches closely woolly. Leaves alternate, slender and semi-terete; 8-15 rarely to 30 mm long; fleshy, sparsely to densely silky or almost glabrous. Flowers solitary, bisexual. Flowering all year round. Fruits are fruiting perianth glabrous except for the lobes; tube thick-walled, 6 mm high; horizontal wing 15�20 mm diam., faintly veined with a radial slit. Seeds are ellipsoid to circular, convex, brown seed. Seed embryo type is peripheral

Seed collection and propagation

Collect seeds between September 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. High seed viability, 80% and 90% from 2 collections. Seeds are non-dormant, high levels of germination were observed with no treatment

Seeds stored:
  Hide
LocationNo. of seeds
(weight grams)		Number
of plants		Date
collected		Collection number
Collection location		Date
stored		% ViabilityStorage
temperature
BGA 
MSB		13,200 (188.6 g)
13,200 (188.6 g)		15026-Oct-2004MOL4621
Gairdner-Torrens		28-Mar-2006100%-18°C
BGA1,000 (19 g)26-Sep-2008DJD1212
Lake Eyre		20-Jul-200990%-18°C
BGA2,570 (34.5 g)12-Dec-2012DJD2403
Murray		27-Feb-201480%-18°C
BGA1,900 (40.42 g)122-May-2007RJB70183
Eastern		1-Jan-201665%-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.
Germination table:
  Display
We acknowledge the contributions of the South Australian Seed Conservation Centre, the Botanic Gardens of South Australia, and the Department for Environment and Water.