Plants of
South Australia
Maireana integra
Amaranthaceae
Entire-wing Bluebush
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Regional Species Conservation Assessments per IBRA subregion.
Least concern
Near threatened
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Vulnerable
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Adelaide
Arkaroola
Ceduna
Coober Pedy
Hawker
Innamincka
Marla
Marree
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Oodnadatta
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Wudinna
Keith
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Botanical art

Kath Alcock painting: 1

Prior names

Kochia integra

Common names

Entire-wing Bluebush

Etymology

'Maireana', after the 19th century French botanist, Adolphe Lemaire and 'integra', referring to the entire wing margin of the perianth.

Distribution and status

Widely spread throughout arid and semi-arid areas of mainland Australia; not recorded in Victoria or Tasmania. Native.
Herbarium regions: North Western, Lake Eyre, Nullarbor, Gairdner-Torrens, Flinders Ranges, Eastern, Eyre Peninsula, Murray
AVH map: SA distribution map (external link)

Plant description

Shrub to 1 m with woolly branches; thin leaves in alternate arrangement 5-14 mm long, c. 1 mm wide; obtuse, woolly. Flowers solitary, bisexual. Fruits are fruiting perianth pale to dark-brown when dry; wing simple and entire, without a radial slit; horizontal, c. 10 mm diameter. Seeds are ellipsoid to circular, convex, brown seed. Seed embryo type is peripheral

Seed collection and propagation

Collect dry, papery fruits. Check that they contain well developed seeds before making a collection by cutting open some fruits. 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
 
MSB
3,100 (19.49 g)		26-Aug-2008TST401
Lake Eyre		45%
BGA11,400 (62.7 g)30-Aug-2016JRG399
North Western		1-Nov-201790%-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:
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We acknowledge the contributions of the South Australian Seed Conservation Centre, the Botanic Gardens of South Australia, and the Department for Environment and Water.