Pearl Bluebush
Habit
Pearl Bluebush
Old Male Flowers
Animals
Plants
Info
| Pearl Bluebush Habit | | Pearl Bluebush Old Male Flowers | | ||
Animals Plants Info |
 | Class: | Plants (Plantae) - Land Plants (Charophyta) - Land Plants (Equisetopsida) | ||||||||||||||
| Order: | Betalains (Caryophyllales) | |||||||||||||||
| Family: | Goosefoot (Chenopodiaceae) iNaturalist Observation | |||||||||||||||
| Species: | Pearl Bluebush (Maireana sedifolia)| This Photo: | Leaves | Other names: | Dense Bluebush or Bluebush | Thank you Asimakis Patitsas & Dr Kym Nicolson for confirming the id of this species for us General Species Information: Found on Ellura (in the Murray Mallee, SA), the Flinders Ranges, the Riverland and elsewhere These are very easy to spot. They are very bright at certain times of year and almost glow. Like the old silver Xmas trees. Medium sized bushes with cylindrical grey/silver leaves. From a distance, very easy to confuse with Bluebush Daisy in shape and colour. Up close it's easy to spot the difference. Generally smaller than the Bluebush Daisy in our area. Leaves are very felted / covered in silky fibres (which is shiny). Note the different gender flowers, and the size of the fruit, compared to the leaves, in the different aged fruits here. The fruit grows behind the red female flower. When the flower germinates the fruit then grows, with the flower turning brown in the centre as it dries. They are known not to flower for a decade. We haven't seen on of our plants flower or fruit in 14 years! even though it looks quite healthy. We've since protected it to see if a lack of grazing helps. Similar Species: Bluebush Daisy (Cratystylis conocephala)
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