''Maireana pyramidata'' (sago bush, black bluebush, shrubby bluebush) is a species of

plant Plants are predominantly photosynthetic eukaryotes of the kingdom Plantae. Historically, the plant kingdom encompassed all living things that were not animals, and included algae and fungi; however, all current definitions of Plantae exclud ...

within the genus, '' Maireana'', 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, making it ...

. It is endemic to

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

, and widespread throughout Australia in the inland, where it is found in Victoria,

New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...

Queensland ) , nickname = Sunshine State , image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , established_ ...

, the

Northern Territory The Northern Territory (commonly abbreviated as NT; formally the Northern Territory of Australia) is an states and territories of Australia, Australian territory in the central and central northern regions of Australia. The Northern Territory ...

and

Western Australia Western Australia (commonly abbreviated as WA) is a state of Australia occupying the western percent of the land area of Australia excluding external territories. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to th ...

Description

''Maireana pyramidata'' is a low, dense, stiffly branched shrub of a height from 0.3 to 1.5 m, with finely woolly branches. It is both dioecious and unisexual. The leaves are alternate, narrowly cylindrical and covered with a mixture of dendritic (tree-like structure) and simple hairs. It fruits from August to November.

Distribution

It is widespread in drier areas, growing on calcareous soils, saline flats, salt lakes, on areas usually prone to flooding. In Victoria, it is found in the far north-west: Mildura, Red Cliffs, Lake Culluleraine and Kerang- Swan Hill. In

, it is found in the

IBRA The Interim Biogeographic Regionalisation for Australia (IBRA) is a biogeographic regionalisation of Australia developed by the Australian government's Department of Sustainability, Environment, Water, Population, and Communities. It was devel ...

regions of Avon Wheatbelt, Carnarvon, Coolgardie,

Gascoyne The Gascoyne region is one of the nine administrative regions of Western Australia. It is located in the northwest of Western Australia, and consists of the local government areas of Carnarvon, Exmouth, Shark Bay and Upper Gascoyne. The Gasc ...

Gibson Desert The Gibson Desert is a large desert in Western Australia, largely in an almost "pristine" state. It is about in size, making it the fifth largest desert in Australia, after the Great Victoria, Great Sandy, Tanami and Simpson deserts. The ...

Great Sandy Desert The Great Sandy Desert is an interim Australian bioregion,IBRA Version 6.1
data

Great Victoria Desert The Great Victoria Desert is a sparsely populated desert ecoregion and interim Australian bioregion in Western Australia and South Australia. History In 1875, British-born Australian explorer Ernest Giles became the first European to cross th ...

Little Sandy Desert The Little Sandy Desert (LSD) is a desert region in the state of Western Australia, lying to the east of the Pilbara and north of the Gascoyne regions. It is part of the Western Desert cultural region, and was declared an interim Australian ...

, Murchison, Nullarbor,

Pilbara The Pilbara () is a large, dry, thinly populated region in the north of Western Australia. It is known for its Aboriginal peoples; its ancient landscapes; the red earth; and its vast mineral deposits, in particular iron ore. It is also a glo ...

, and Yalgoo. In

it is found in the subdivisions: NWP, SWP, NFWP, SFWP.

Taxonomy and naming

It was first described by Bentham in 1870 as ''Kochia pyramidata'', with the type said to have been collected on the Lachlan River by

Alan Cunningham General (United Kingdom), General Sir Alan Gordon Cunningham, (1 May 1887 – 30 January 1983) was a senior Officer (armed forces), officer of the British Army noted for his victories over Italian forces in the East African Campaign (World War ...

in sand hill country. (A syntype is MEL 0044017A.) The species was reassigned to the genus ''Maireana'' by

Wilson Wilson may refer to: People * Wilson (name) ** List of people with given name Wilson ** List of people with surname Wilson * Wilson (footballer, 1927–1998), Brazilian manager and defender * Wilson (footballer, born 1984), full name Wilson Ro ...

in 1975. The specific epithet, ''pyramidata'', refers to the pyramidal shape of the centre of the fruit.

References

External links

{{Taxonbar, from=Q15592165 pyramidata Flora of Western Australia Flora of South Australia Flora of the Northern Territory Flora of Victoria (Australia) Flora of Queensland Dioecious plants