Ruby Saltbush
Mature Green Fruit
Leafless Bluebush
Habit
| Ruby Saltbush Mature Green Fruit | | Leafless Bluebush Habit | | ||
 | Class: | Plants (Plantae) - Land Plants (Charophyta) - Land Plants (Equisetopsida) | |||
| Order: | Betalains (Caryophyllales) | ||||
| Family: | Goosefoot (Chenopodiaceae) iNaturalist Observation | ||||
| Species: | Leafless Bluebush (Maireana aphylla) | ||||
| This Photo: | 🔍Whole🔎 | ||||
| Other name: | Cottonbush | ||||
Thank you Dr Kym Nicolson for confirming the id of this species for us General Species Information: Found in the Murray Mallee SA and possibly elsewhere A very spiny large bluebush. With the drought, this specimen is very stressed; looks much more spiny than normal. Even so, it's covered in thousands of flowers! Petalless flowers, with hot pink stigma. We could find any fruits, even old ones. While it seems leafless, you can notice in the bottom left of the last photo there are very small leaves. Unlike Spinebush (Acacia) the spines are not phyllodes, but proper stems. The leaves are small, but succulent. | |||||
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