Plants of
South Australia
Maireana sedifolia
Amaranthaceae
Pearl Bluebush,
Bluebush
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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
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Botanical art

Kath Alcock paintings: 3

Prior names

Kochia sedifolia

Common names

Pearl Bluebush

Bluebush

Etymology

Maireana, named after Adolphe Lemaire, a 19th century French botanist and 'sedifolia', meaning 'Sedum-shaped' leaves.

Distribution and status

Grows on calcareous soils, frequently on rises
Herbarium regions: North Western, Lake Eyre, Nullarbor, Gairdner-Torrens, Flinders Ranges, Eastern, Eyre Peninsula, Murray, Yorke Peninsula
NRM regions: Alinytjara Wilurara, Eyre Peninsula, Northern and Yorke, South Australian Arid Lands, South Australian Murray-Darling Basin
AVH map: SA distribution map (external link)

Plant description

Compact, divaricately branched shrub to 1.5 m high; covered with a close bluish-grey woolly tomentum; dioecious. Leaves alternate; fleshy, narrowly obovoid, 4-8 mm long. Flowers in pairs but usually only one maturing, closely woolly, the male hemi-spherical and the female globular. Flowering all year. Fruits are fruiting perianth straw-coloured or pale-brown when dry; tube sparsely hairy, turbinate, to 2 mm high; horizontal wing c. 10 mm diam., glabrous, faintly veined, with a radial slit Seeds are seeds are brown and disc shaped, up to 1.5 mm diameter with overlapping embryo tip forming a small beak. Seed embryo type is peripheral

Seed collection and propagation

Collect seeds between November and February. Collect seeds when fruits are brown and papery. Check inside several fruits for the presence of well developed seed before making a collection Remove twigs and other plant material Germination 75%, seed scarified (covering structure removed) on 1% w/v agar, 8/16 dark/light, 15°C. See http://data.kew.org/sid

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
3,500 (21.34 g)		30-401-Sep-2008TST459
Eyre Peninsula		65%
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.