Plants of South Eastern New South Wales
Maireana microphylla
Common name
Small-leaf bluebush, Bluebush
Family
Chenopodiaceae
Where found
Colonizing species. Disturbed mallee and woodland, other disturbed sites, and bare ground. Mainly west of the area covered by this key. Western Slopes. ACT. Sydney area.
Notes
Shrub to about 1 m high and wide. Stems sparsely hairy when young. Leaves often sparse, alternating up the stems, flattened cylindrical, 0.2–1 cm long, 0.5 mm wide, glaucous to sparsely hairy. Flowers small, tubular, with 5 'petals', hairless or the margins of the 'petals' fringed. Flowers single, but crowded into leafy spikes at the ends of the branchlets. Seed cases thick discs, 1.5–7 mm in diameter, flat or slightly convex at the tips, thin-walled, slightly open at the tips, hairless to slightly hairy, dark brown when dry. Horizontal wing may or may not be developed; when present, the wing entire or lobed, margin finely scalloped, with a radial slit.
Uncertain Status (native or naturalised) in the ACT.
Endangered Vic.
PlantNET description: http://plantnet.rbgsyd.nsw.gov.au/cgi-bin/NSWfl.pl?page=nswfl&lvl=sp&name=Maireana~microphylla (accessed 24 January, 2021)
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