Suaeda australis - Flickr - Kevin Thiele

''Suaeda australis'', the austral seablite, is a species of plant in the family

Amaranthaceae Amaranthaceae ( ) is a family of flowering plants commonly known as the amaranth family, in reference to its type genus '' Amaranthus''. It includes the former goosefoot family Chenopodiaceae and contains about 165 genera and 2,040 species, maki ...

, native to

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

.It was first described in 1810 by

Robert Brown Robert Brown may refer to: Robert Brown (born 1965), British Director, Animator and author Entertainers and artists * Washboard Sam or Robert Brown (1910–1966), American musician and singer * Robert W. Brown (1917–2009), American printmaker ...

as ''Chenopodium australe''. In 1831

Alfred Moquin-Tandon Christian Horace Benedict Alfred Moquin-Tandon (7 May 1804 – 15 April 1863) was a French Natural history, naturalist and doctor. Moquin-Tandon was professor of zoology at Marseille from 1829 until 1833, when he was appointed professor of botany ...

transferred it to the genus, ''

Suaeda __NOTOC__ ''Suaeda'' is a genus of plants also known as seepweeds and sea-blites. Most species are confined to saline or alkaline soil habitats, such as coastal salt-flats and tidal wetlands. Many species have thick, succulent leaves, a character ...

'', to give its present name.

Description

It grows to in height, with a spreading habit and branching occurring from the base. The leaves are up to 40 mm in length and are succulent, linear and flattened. They are light green to purplish-red in colour. The species occurs on shorelines in coastal or estuarine areas or in

salt marsh A salt marsh, saltmarsh or salting, also known as a coastal salt marsh or a tidal marsh, is a coastal ecosystem in the upper coastal intertidal zone between land and open saltwater or brackish water that is regularly flooded by the tides. I ...

es. It is native across Australia including the states of

Queensland Queensland ( , commonly abbreviated as Qld) is a States and territories of Australia, state in northeastern Australia, and is the second-largest and third-most populous state in Australia. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Austr ...

New South Wales New South Wales (commonly abbreviated as NSW) is a States and territories of Australia, state on the Eastern states of Australia, east coast of :Australia. It borders Queensland to the north, Victoria (state), Victoria to the south, and South ...

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Queen Victoria (1819–1901), Queen of the United Kingdom and Empress of India * Victoria (state), a state of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, Canada, a provincial capital * Victoria, Seychelles, the capi ...

Tasmania Tasmania (; palawa kani: ''Lutruwita'') is an island States and territories of Australia, state of Australia. It is located to the south of the Mainland Australia, Australian mainland, and is separated from it by the Bass Strait. The sta ...

South Australia South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a States and territories of Australia, state in the southern central part of Australia. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories by area, which in ...

and the south-west of

Western Australia Western Australia (WA) is the westernmost state of Australia. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to the south, the Northern Territory to the north-east, and South Australia to the south-east. Western Aust ...

. In irrigated areas, the species is known as a salinity indicator plant and is referred to as redweed.

References

External links

Online Field guide to Common Saltmarsh Plants of Queensland''Suaeda australis'' occurrence
data from

Australasian Virtual Herbarium The ''Australasian Virtual Herbarium'' (AVH) is an online resource that allows access to plant specimen data held by various Australian and New Zealand herbaria. It is part of the Atlas of Living Australia (ALA), and was formed by the amalgama ...

* australis Caryophyllales of Australia Halophytes Flora of New South Wales Flora of Queensland Flora of South Australia Flora of Tasmania Flora of Victoria (state) Eudicots of Western Australia {{Australia-eudicot-stub