Maireana cheelii

Tufted perennial with erect slender, woolly branches to c. 20 cm long arising from a swollen taproot. Leaves alternate, linear, 5–9 mm long, somewhat fleshy, plano-convex in section, mostly shortly spurred at base. Flowers bisexual. Fruiting perianth 5–6 mm diam., cottony above, flat or depressed at apex; tube c. 2 mm diam., woody and prominently 10-ribbed below wings with a knob-like base; wings 5, spreading, fan-shaped, cartilaginous; radicular slit with a thickened margin, extending to base of tube. Fruits mostly Sep.–Nov