Ruby Saltbush
Mature Green Fruit
Murray Mallee Region
Leafless Bluebush
Habit
 
                      
Leafless Bluebush (Maireana aphylla)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.

Copyright © 2020-2024 Brett & Marie Smith. All Rights Reserved. Photographed 24-Jan-2020
This species is classed as VU (Vulnerable) in the Murray Mallee, SA, by DENR (Regional Species Status Assessments, July 2010)