Short-leaf Bluebush

Maireana brevifolia, Kochia brevifolia, Short-leaf Bluebush, Cottonbush,

Hebrew: מאירית קצרת-עלים ,קוכיה קצרת-עלים


Scientific name:		Maireana brevifolia (R.Br.) Paul G.Wilson
Synonym name:		Kochia brevifolia R.Br.
Common name:		Short-leaf Bluebush, Cottonbush
Hebrew name:		מאירית קצרת-עלים ,קוכיה קצרת-עלים
Family:		Chenopodiaceae / Amaranthaceae, הסילקיים

_{Location: Sede Boker}


Life form:		Chamaephyte
Succulence:		Leaf succulent
Stems:		20-100 cm high, semi erect to upright; striate (parallel ridges)
Leaves:		Alternate, cylindrical or terete, scattered, fleshy, obovoid to almost threadlike, 2 – 5 mm long, narrowing into a short stalk, mostly hairless.
Inflorescence:		Solitary in the leaf axils
Flowers:		Bisexual; green, 5 petals
Fruits:		Fruit 6–8 mm diameter, with 5, often overlapping wings to 3 mm long
Flowering Period:		May, June, July August, September, October, November
Habitat:		Disturbed habitats
Distribution:		Semi-steppe shrublands, Shrub-steppes
Chorotype:		Australia
Summer shedding:		Perennating

_{Location: Sede Boker}
Derivation of the botanical name:

Maireana, named for Charles Antoine Lemaire (1800 – 1871), was a French botanist and botanical author, noted for his publications on Cactaceae.

brevifolia
Kochia, named for Wilhem Daniel Josef Koch (1771 – 1849), a German physician and botanist, Professor of Botany at the University of Erlangen Nuremberg.
The Hebrew name: מאירית, mairit, translation and transliteration from the scientific name.
The Hebrew name: קוכיה, kochia, a transliteration from the scientific name.

The standard author abbreviation (R.Br.) is used to indicate Robert Brown (1773 – 1858), a Scottish botanist.
The standard author abbreviation Paul G.Wilson is used to indicate Paul Graham Wilson (born 1928 in Tzaneen in the Transvaal), an Australian botanist. His areas of expertise include the hash plants (Rutaceae) and goosefoot (Chenopodiaceae), the latter being present as the Amaranth family (Amaranthaceae) duly considered.

The species is “new to” the Flora Palaestina area. It was first introduced in 1948 and is naturalized in the Negev desert.

_{Location: Sede Boker}