Maireana georgei - Flickr - Kevin Thiele

''Maireana'' is a genus of around 58 species of flowering plants 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 ...

which are endemic to Australia. Plants in the genus ''Maireana'' are

herbaceous Herbaceous plants are vascular plants that have no persistent woody stems above ground. This broad category of plants includes many perennials, and nearly all annuals and biennials. Definitions of "herb" and "herbaceous" The fourth edition of ...

to woody

perennial plant In horticulture, the term perennial (''wikt:per-#Prefix, per-'' + ''wikt:-ennial#Suffix, -ennial'', "through the year") is used to differentiate a plant from shorter-lived annual plant, annuals and biennial plant, biennials. It has thus been d ...

s or small shrubs with often fleshy or succulent leaves,

sessile Sessility, or sessile, may refer to: * Sessility (motility), organisms which are not able to move about * Sessility (botany), flowers or leaves that grow directly from the stem or peduncle of a plant * Sessility (medicine), tumors and polyps that ...

flowers with five petals and five

stamen The stamen (: stamina or stamens) is a part consisting of the male reproductive organs of a flower. Collectively, the stamens form the androecium., p. 10 Morphology and terminology A stamen typically consists of a stalk called the filament ...

s, and the fruit is a utricle containing a single seed.

Description

Plants in the genus ''Maireana'' are herbaceous to woody perennials or small shrubs that are

glabrous Glabrousness () is the technical term for a lack of hair, down, setae, trichomes, or other such covering. A glabrous surface may be a natural characteristic of all or part of a plant or animal, or be due to loss because of a physical condition, ...

or sometimes covered with woolly hairs. The leaves are globe-shaped to terete or narrowly oblong, often fleshy or succulent. The flowers are sessile, arranged singly or in pairs in leaf axils and are

dioecious Dioecy ( ; ; adj. dioecious, ) is a characteristic of certain species that have distinct unisexual individuals, each producing either male or female gametes, either directly (in animals) or indirectly (in seed plants). Dioecious reproduction is ...

hermaphrodite A hermaphrodite () is a sexually reproducing organism that produces both male and female gametes. Animal species in which individuals are either male or female are gonochoric, which is the opposite of hermaphroditic. The individuals of many ...

with five petals and five stamens opposite the petals. The

ovary The ovary () is a gonad in the female reproductive system that produces ova; when released, an ovum travels through the fallopian tube/ oviduct into the uterus. There is an ovary on the left and the right side of the body. The ovaries are end ...

is more or less spherical with a short

style Style, or styles may refer to: Film and television * ''Style'' (2001 film), a Hindi film starring Sharman Joshi, Riya Sen, Sahil Khan and Shilpi Mudgal * ''Style'' (2002 film), a Tamil drama film * ''Style'' (2004 film), a Burmese film * '' ...

and two or three linear stigmas. The

perianth The perianth (perigonium, perigon or perigone in monocots) is the non-reproductive part of the flower. It is a structure that forms an envelope surrounding the sexual organs, consisting of the calyx (sepals) and the corolla (petals) or tepal ...

of the fruit has a wing, sometimes divided into separate leathery wings, at the base lobes that more or less obscure the utricle. The utricle is disc-like, top-shaped or spherical and contains a single seed.

Taxonomy

The genus ''Maireana'' was first formally described in 1840 by the botanist, Moquin-Tandon and named to honour Joseph François Maire (1780-1867), an amateur botanist who befriended him during the author's first visit to Paris in 1834.Fournier, Eugene, Rapport sur l'herbier de M. le Docteur E. Cosson. (1867

/ref>Moquin-Tandon, Alfred. Marcel Rolland(editor.) Un naturaliste à Paris sous Louis-Philippe: journal de voyage inédit (1834) 1944. The Type (biology), type species is ''

Maireana tomentosa ''Maireana'' is a genus of around 58 species of flowering plants in the family Amaranthaceae which are endemic to Australia. Plants in the genus ''Maireana'' are Herbaceous plant, herbaceous to woody perennial plants or small shrubs with often f ...

''.

Distribution

Species of ''Maireana'' are found in all mainland states of Australia.

Species list

The following species of ''Maireana'' are accepted by the

Australian Plant Census The Australian Plant Census (APC) provides an online interface to currently accepted, published, scientific names of the vascular flora of Australia, as one of the output interfaces of the national government Integrated Biodiversity Information Sys ...

as at April 2025: *'' Maireana amoena'' (Diels) Paul G.Wilson (W.A.) *''

Maireana aphylla ''Maireana aphylla'', commonly known as cotton bush or leafless bluebush, is a species of flowering plant in the family Chenopodiaceae and is endemic to Australia. It is a widely branched, mostly dioecious shrub with small, woolly leaves, flowe ...

'' (R.Br.) Paul G.Wilson - cotton bush or leafless bluebush (N.T., W.A., S.A., Qld., Vic, N.S.W.) *''

Maireana appressa ''Maireana appressa'', commonly known as grey bluebush, is a species of flowering plant in the family Chenopodiaceae and is endemic to Australia. It is an intricately branched, spreading or erect shrub covered with woolly, white hairs with narrow ...

'' (Benth.) Paul G.Wilson – grey bluebush (W.A., S.A., N.T., Qld., N.S.W., Vic.) *''

Maireana astrotricha ''Maireana astrotricha'', commonly known as low bluebush, southern bluebush, or grey bluebush, is a widely branched, perennial plant with fleshy leaves, male, female or bisexual flowers and a winged fruiting perianth, and is usually found growing ...

'' (L.A.S.Johnson) Paul G.Wilson – low bluebush, southern bluebush, grey bluebush (N.S.W., Qld., N.T.) *''

Maireana atkinsiana ''Maireana atkinsiana'', commonly known as bronze bluebush, is a species of flowering plant in the family Chenopodiaceae and is endemic to Western Australia. It is a rigid, brittle, dioecious shrub with fleshy, narrowly to broadly egg-shaped lea ...

'' (W.Fitzg.) Paul G.Wilson (W.A.) *''

Maireana brevifolia ''Maireana brevifolia'', commonly known as small-leaf bluebush, eastern cotton bush or short-leaf bluebush is a species of flowering plant in the family Chenopodiaceae and is endemic to Australia, and naturalised in other countries. It is a bushy ...

'' (R.Br.) Paul G.Wilson - small-leaf bluebush, eastern cotton bush, short-leaf bluebush (W.A., N.T., S.A., Qld., N.S.W., Vic.) *''

Maireana campanulata ''Maireana campanulata'', commonly known as bell-fruit bluebush, is a species of flowering plant in the family Chenopodiaceae and is endemic to inland regions of Australia. It is a spreading or erect shrub or subshrub with linear to oblong leaves ...

'' Paul G.Wilson – bell-fruit bluebush (S.A., N.T., Qld., N.S.W.) *''

Maireana cannonii ''Maireana cannonii'', commonly known as Cannon's bluebush, is a species of flowering plant in the family Chenopodiaceae and is endemic to South Australia. It is a small subshrub with many branches, sessile leaves arranged in opposite pairs, bise ...

'' (J.M.Black) Paul G.Wilson – Cannon's bluebush (S.A.) *''

Maireana carnosa ''Maireana carnosa'', commonly known as cottony bluebush, is a species of flowering plant in the family Chenopodiaceae and is endemic to continental Australia. It is an erect to spreading or prostrate perennial herb or subshrub with a woody base ...

'' (Moq.) Paul G.Wilson – cottony bluebush (W.A., N.T., S.A., Qld.) *''

Maireana cheelii ''Maireana cheelii'', commonly known as chariot wheels, is a species of flowering plant in the family Amaranthaceae, and is endemic to eastern Australia. It is a small, erect perennial with more or less terete leaves, bisexual flowers arranged ...

'' (R.H.Anderson) Paul G.Wilson – chariot wheels (N.S.W., Vic.) *''

Maireana ciliata ''Maireana ciliata'', commonly known as fissure weed or hairy bluebush, is a species of flowering plant in the family Amaranthaceae and is endemic to Australia. It is a low-lying to erect perennial with woolly branches, narrowly oblong leaves, bi ...

'' (F.Muell.) Paul G.Wilson – fissure weed, hairy bluebush (N.T., S.A., Qld., N.S.W., Vic.) *''

Maireana convexa ''Maireana convexa'', commonly known as mulga bluebush, is a species of flowering plant in the family Amaranthaceae, and is endemic to Western Australia. It is an open, widely branched shrub or subshrub with fleshy, linear leaves, sometimes with ...

'' Paul G.Wilson – mulga bluebush (W.A.) *''

Maireana coronata ''Maireana coronata'', commonly known as crown fissure-weed, is a species of flowering plant in the family Chenopodiaceae and is endemic to Australia. It is a low-lying to erect perennial plant with linear leaves, bisexual flowers arranged sing ...

'' (J.M.Black) Paul G.Wilson – crown fissure-weed (N.T., S.A., Qld., N.S.W.) *'' Maireana decalvans'' (Gand.) Paul G.Wilson – black cottonbush (N.S.W., Vic., Qld., S.A.) *'' Maireana dichoptera'' (F.Muell.) Paul G.Wilson (Qld., N.T.) *'' Maireana diffusa'' Paul G.Wilson *'' Maireana enchylaenoides'' (F.Muell.) Paul G.Wilson *'' Maireana eriantha'' (F.Muell.) Paul G.Wilson *'' Maireana erioclada'' (Benth.) Paul G.Wilson *'' Maireana eriosphaera'' Paul G.Wilson *'' Maireana excavata'' (J.M.Black) Paul G.Wilson *'' Maireana georgei'' (Diels) Paul G.Wilson - slit-wing bluebush or satiny bluebush (N.T.) *'' Maireana glomerifolia'' (F.Muell. & Tate) Paul G.Wilson *'' Maireana humillima'' (F.Muell.) Paul G.Wilson *'' Maireana integra'' (Paul G.Wilson) Paul G.Wilson *'' Maireana lanosa'' (Lindl.) Paul G.Wilson *'' Maireana lobiflora'' (Benth.) Paul G.Wilson *'' Maireana luehmannii'' (F.Muell.) Paul G.Wilson *'' Maireana marginata'' (Benth.) Paul G.Wilson *'' Maireana melanocarpa'' Paul G.Wilson *'' Maireana melanocoma'' (F.Muell.) Paul G.Wilson *'' Maireana microcarpa'' (Benth.) Paul G.Wilson *'' Maireana microphylla'' (Moq.) Paul G.Wilson *'' Maireana murrayana'' (Ewart & B.Rees) Paul G.Wilson *'' Maireana obrienii'' N.G.Walsh *'' Maireana oppositifolia'' (F.Muell.) Paul G.Wilson *'' Maireana ovata'' (Ising) Paul G.Wilson *'' Maireana pentagona'' (R.H.Anderson) Paul G.Wilson *'' Maireana pentatropis'' (Tate) Paul G.Wilson *'' Maireana planifolia'' (F.Muell.) Paul G.Wilson *'' Maireana platycarpa'' Paul G.Wilson *'' Maireana polypterygia'' (Diels) Paul G.Wilson *'' Maireana prosthecochaeta'' (F.Muell.) Paul G.Wilson *'' Maireana pyramidata'' (Benth.) Paul G.Wilson *'' Maireana radiata'' (Paul G.Wilson) Paul G.Wilson *'' Maireana rohrlachii'' (Paul G.Wilson) Paul G.Wilson *'' Maireana schistocarpa'' Paul G.Wilson *'' Maireana scleroptera'' (J.M.Black) Paul G.Wilson *''

Maireana sedifolia ''Maireana sedifolia'', also known as the bluebush or pearl bluebrush is a compact shrub endemic to Australia, and found in New South Wales, Victoria, South Australia, Western Australia, and the Northern Territory. It is used in pasture and as a ...

'' (F.Muell.) Paul G.Wilson - pearl bluebush *'' Maireana spongiocarpa'' (F.Muell.) Paul G.Wilson **''Maireana'' sp. Patience (C.P.Campbell 1052) WA Herbarium **''Maireana'' sp. Rainbow Valley (A91207) NT Herbarium *'' Maireana stipitata'' Paul G.Wilson *'' Maireana suaedifolia'' (Paul G.Wilson) Paul G.Wilson *'' Maireana thesioides'' (C.A.Gardner) Paul G.Wilson *''

'' Moq. **''Maireana tomentosa '' Moq. subsp. ''tomentosa'' **''Maireana tomentosa'' subsp. ''urceolata'' Paul G.Wilson *'' Maireana trichoptera'' (J.M.Black) Paul G.Wilson *'' Maireana triptera'' (Benth.) Paul G.Wilson *'' Maireana turbinata'' Paul G.Wilson *'' Maireana villosa'' (Lindl.) Paul G.Wilson

References

Fournier, Eugene, Rapport sur l'herbier de M. le Docteur E. Cosson. (1867

/ref> * {{Authority control Maireana, Caryophyllales of Australia Amaranthaceae genera