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Maireana astrotricha
Low bluebush is a rounded, widely branched perennial shrub up to about 1 m high, native to arid Australian plains. It thrives in well-drained, gravelly or stony soil in full sun and needs very little water.
Maireana astrotricha, commonly known as low bluebush, southern bluebush, or grey bluebush, is a widely branched, perennial plant with fleshy leaves, male, female or bisexual flowers and a winged fruiting perianth, and is usually found growing in open habitats, typically in gravelly, well-drained soils, in New South Wales, Queensland and the Northern Territory.
Maireana astrotricha usually grows in well-drained gravelly or stony soil in open situations. It is found in western New South Wales, central and northern South Australia, south of Alice Springs in the Northern Territory and the south western corner of Queensland. Within western NSW from the Murray to the Queensland border it gradually replaces pearl bluebush (M. sedifolia), becoming more frequent in the north. In South Australia it is found from the Northern Eyre Peninsula across to the eastern and northern borders, but not recorded on the south east or Yorke and Fleurieu peninsula.
Saltbush and bluebush (Maireana) are highly regarded as reserve forage for stock as they offer more protein and digestability than dry herbaceous species. M. astrotricha is more acceptable to stock than pearl bluebush (M. sedifolia).
Bluebush · Maireana amoena · Cottonbush · Grey Bluebush · Maireana atkinsiana · Eastern Cottonbush · Maireana campanulata · Maireana cannonii · Cottony Bluebush · Maireana cheelii · Fissure Weed · Maireana convexa
Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Maireana astrotricha by its contributors, under CC BY-SA 4.0; the excerpts and the care summary drawn from them are shared under the same licence.
The care summary was written by AI (Claude, Anthropic) from the sources on this page, with general growing knowledge where they are silent. Check before relying on it.
Life form, climate and native range: World Checklist of Vascular Plants, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (CC BY 3.0), reformatted; see Plants of the World Online.
