Maireana decalvans (Gand.) Paul G.Wilson

Common Name and Growth Habit

Maireana decalvans, commonly known as black cottonbush, is an erect to spreading, bushy perennial plant.

Size and Branch Characteristics

It typically grows up to 50 cm (20 in) tall and produces thin branches.

Leaf Morphology

Its leaves are arranged alternately, are circular in cross-section to narrowly spindle-shaped, measure 5–8 mm (0.20–0.31 in) long, and are glabrous and fleshy.

Flower Characteristics

The flowers are bisexual, glabrous, and arranged singly in leaf axils.

Fruiting Perianth Structure

The fruiting perianth has a thin-walled tube around 3 mm (0.12 in) in diameter, and a thin wing around 8 mm (0.31 in) in diameter with a single radial slit.

Habitat and Colonising Trait

This species grows in heavy, seasonally wet, waterlogged soil, and sometimes acts as a coloniser of cleared land.

Native Distribution

It is naturally found in western New South Wales (mainly along the Murray River floodplain), the mid-west and Melbourne-Bacchus Marsh areas of Victoria, south-eastern South Australia, and south-eastern Queensland.

Naturalised Range

It has also become naturalised in the Cape Provinces of South Africa.