Top-fruit Bluebush
Drying Fruit Fallen Off
Ellura
Ruby Bluebush
Whole
 
                      
Top-fruit Bluebush (Maireana turbinata)Class: Plants (Plantae) - Land Plants (Charophyta) - Land Plants (Equisetopsida)
Order: Betalains (Caryophyllales)
Family: Goosefoot (Chenopodiaceae)     iNaturalist Observation
Species: Top-fruit Bluebush (Maireana turbinata)
This Photo:     🔍Drying Fruit Fallen Off🔎
Other name: Satiny Bluebush

Thank you Karen Weaving for confirming the id of this species for us

General Species Information:
Found on Ellura (in the Murray Mallee, SA) and elsewhere
Very similar to Rohrlach's Bluebush. Taking a closer look you notice the lack of a radial slit in the fruit's wing; this isn't as easy to spot as you might think.
The face of the wing is smooth except for small hair tuft in the middle; unlike Rohrlach's, which has a doughnut shaped lump in the centre.
The bushes are quite small, ~400 mm across, and entangled with other plants for protection.
The stems are covered in wool.
We found a small patch of them after a massive rainfall this year (2022). We also discovered the cross between these & Ruby Saltbush on the same day in the same area (plus have since found more elsewhere)

Copyright © 2022-2024 Brett & Marie Smith. All Rights Reserved. Photographed 05-Nov-2022
This species is classed as RA (Rare) in the Murray Mallee, SA, by DENR (Regional Species Status Assessments, July 2010)