Ruby Saltbush

Ruby Saltbush photos

Family: Saltbush (Chenopodiaceae)

Scientific Name:

Enchylaena tomentosa

Ruby Saltbush plant
Photo: A J Brown

Other Common Names:

Barrier Saltbush, Plum Puddings, Barry Cotton Bush

Status:

Native to mainly inland areas of all mainland States and Territories of Australia.

Plant Description:

A semi-succulent, perennial, much-branched shrub, up to nearly 1m tall. Leaves and stems are covered with hairs (woolly hairs on the stems),. Leaves are short (6-15 mm), cylindrical, rounded and fleshy with a velvety surface.

Flowers are small and solitary, held in the leaf axils (where leaf joins stem). Fruits are rounded, fleshy and tomato-shaped, ripening from green to red or yellow and drying to black. Flowering in spring to early summer.

Habitat:

Grows in a wide range of soil types. Most often found in well drained sandy soils.

Region	Salinity Class	Waterlogging Class
Mallee, Loddon Murray, Central and Northern, Wimmera	S0, S1, S2, S3	W0, W1

Comments:

A hardy shrub, resistant to drought and frost. Not normally a dominant plant in saline communities but is quite conspicuous. Often forms the shrub layer in woodlands. Not grazed much except during droughts.

The berries are edible and the plant provides useful sheep-feed in dry periods

Ruby Saltbush Photos

Ruby Saltbush fruit Photo: A J Brown	Ruby Saltbush plant Photo: ex-Matters & Bozon
Ruby Saltbush - showing hairy leaves and stems Photo: A J Brown	Ruby Saltbush fruit Photo: A J Brown

Related Links

Desert Tropicals: Ruby Saltbush (external link)

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