Rohrlach's Bluebush
Fruit, lots
Ellura
Rohrlach's Bluebush
Fruit, profile, ~12mm high
 
                      
Rohrlach's Bluebush (Maireana rohrlachii)Class: Plants (Plantae) - Land Plants (Charophyta) - Land Plants (Equisetopsida)
Order: Betalains (Caryophyllales)
Family: Goosefoot (Chenopodiaceae)     iNaturalist Observation
Species: Rohrlach's Bluebush (Maireana rohrlachii)
This Photo:     🔍Fruit, lots, paler🔎

Thank you 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 and elsewhere
Probably one of the most beautiful bluebush fruits. The fruit wings are curved and have deep red edges, going to shiny copper centres.
The wing is one piece with a single slit, which is hard to spot.
The centre fleshy part of the fruit is green and cone shaped on the back.
The stems are hairy, and leaves typical of Maireana; succulent green with red tinges.
We confused these for a while with M brevifolia, as they can have a bit of a red ring. But closer inspection shows the single wing vs 5 for M brevifolia. The plant is similar though (well that's our excuse & we're sticking to it
without the red stems.

Copyright © 2014-2024 Brett & Marie Smith. All Rights Reserved. Photographed 27-Mar-2014
This species is protected and classed as RA (Rare) under the National Parks & Wildlife, SA, Protection Act