AusTraits

Arundo donax

Explore the data for this taxon in the portal

Family Poaceae

Taxonomy: Arundo donax L.

Synonyms: 3 (APC 2026-07-30)
  • Arundo donax L. var. donax (nomenclatural synonym)
  • Arundo donax var. versicolor (Mill.) Stokes (taxonomic synonym)
  • Arundo versicolor Mill. (taxonomic synonym)
Misapplied names: 1 (APC 2026-07-30)
  • Phragmites australis (Cav.) Trin. ex Steud. (misapplied)

Distribution (APC): WA (naturalised), ChI (naturalised), NT (naturalised), SA (naturalised), Qld (naturalised), NSW (naturalised), NI (naturalised), ACT (doubtfully naturalised), Vic (naturalised)

Profiles: APC, Flora of Australia, ALA, iNaturalist, NSW Flora, NT eFlora, SA eFlora, Vic Flora, Florabase, ATRP

Traits

Top source datasets: ABRS_2022 (3), ABRS_2023 (8), Crowley_2007 (1), Kubiak_2009 (1), Metcalfe_2020_2 (19), NHNSW_2014_2 (7), NHNSW_2022 (4), NHNSW_2023 (5), NSWFRD_2014 (4), RBGV_2022 (3), RBGV_2023 (9), SAH_2014 (2), SAH_2022 (3), SAH_2023 (4), Simpson_2021 (2), WAH_2022_1 (4), WAH_2022_2 (4), WAH_2023_1 (2), WAH_2023_2 (4), Wenk_2022 (2), Wenk_2023 (1), Yang_2023 (1). See below for a full list of sources.
Summary: AusTraits contains 34 traits from 93 records in 22 datasets.

Traits by category (click to expand). For categorical traits, the values are listed. For numerical traits, the mean and range are shown.

fire response
  • resprouting_capacity (categorical): resprouts (4) [sources: Crowley_2007; Kubiak_2009; NSWFRD_2014; Yang_2023]
flower morphology
  • flower_colour (categorical): white_cream (1) [sources: NHNSW_2014_2]
  • sex_type (categorical): hermaphrodite (1) [sources: Metcalfe_2020_2]
fruit morphology
  • fruit_length (numerical): 2 mm (2-2 mm) [sources: Metcalfe_2020_2]
  • fruit_type (categorical): caryopsis (7) [sources: ABRS_2023; Metcalfe_2020_2; NHNSW_2023; RBGV_2023; SAH_2023; WAH_2023_1; WAH_2023_2]
  • fruit_fleshiness (categorical): dry (1) [sources: Metcalfe_2020_2]
  • fruit_dehiscence (categorical): dehiscent (1); indehiscent (1) [sources: Metcalfe_2020_2]
leaf morphology
  • leaf_area (numerical): 12000 mm2 (12000-12000 mm2) [sources: Metcalfe_2020_2]
  • leaf_length (numerical): 525 mm (50-1000 mm) [sources: ABRS_2023; Metcalfe_2020_2; RBGV_2023]
  • leaf_width (numerical): 45 mm (10-80 mm) [sources: ABRS_2023; Metcalfe_2020_2; RBGV_2023; SAH_2014]
  • leaf_base_shape (categorical): rounded (1) [sources: SAH_2023]
  • leaf_margin (categorical): entire (1) [sources: NHNSW_2014_2]
  • leaf_compoundness (categorical): simple (2) [sources: Metcalfe_2020_2; NHNSW_2014_2]
  • leaf_glaucousness (categorical): glaucous (1) [sources: RBGV_2023]
  • leaf_phyllotaxis (categorical): alternate (3) [sources: ABRS_2023; NHNSW_2023; RBGV_2023]
  • plant_photosynthetic_organ (categorical): leaf (4) [sources: ABRS_2023; NHNSW_2023; RBGV_2023; SAH_2023]
life history
  • photosynthetic_pathway (categorical): c3 (1) [sources: Metcalfe_2020_2]
  • plant_growth_form (categorical): graminoid (6); herb (4); tussock (2) [sources: ABRS_2022; Metcalfe_2020_2; NHNSW_2022; NSWFRD_2014; RBGV_2022; SAH_2022; WAH_2022_1; WAH_2022_2; Wenk_2022]
  • life_form (categorical): hemicryptophyte (1) [sources: Metcalfe_2020_2]
  • life_history (categorical): perennial (8) [sources: ABRS_2022; NHNSW_2022; RBGV_2022; SAH_2022; Simpson_2021; WAH_2022_1; WAH_2022_2; Wenk_2023]
  • plant_growth_substrate (categorical): aquatic (1) [sources: NHNSW_2014_2]
  • woodiness_detailed (categorical): herbaceous (7) [sources: ABRS_2022; NHNSW_2022; RBGV_2022; SAH_2022; WAH_2022_1; WAH_2022_2; Wenk_2022]
  • stem_growth_habit (categorical): creeping (1); rhizomatous (3) [sources: NHNSW_2022; WAH_2022_1; WAH_2022_2]
  • root_structure (categorical): non_mycorrhizal (1) [sources: Metcalfe_2020_2]
  • pollination_syndrome (categorical): wind (1) [sources: Metcalfe_2020_2]
  • dispersal_syndrome (categorical): anemochory (1) [sources: Metcalfe_2020_2]
  • flowering_time (categorical): yynnnnnnyyyy (2) [sources: NHNSW_2014_2; NSWFRD_2014]
  • vegetative_reproduction_ability (categorical): vegetative (2) [sources: Metcalfe_2020_2; NHNSW_2014_2]
  • clonal_spread_mechanism (categorical): belowground_clonal (1) [sources: Metcalfe_2020_2]
  • storage_organ (categorical): rhizome (6) [sources: ABRS_2023; NHNSW_2023; RBGV_2023; SAH_2023; WAH_2023_1; WAH_2023_2]
  • bud_bank_location (categorical): rhizome (2) [sources: NSWFRD_2014; Simpson_2021]
whole plant morphology
  • plant_height (numerical): 5.33 m (2-6 m) [sources: NHNSW_2023; SAH_2014; WAH_2023_2]

Sources

dataset_idn_traitsn_recordsreference
Metcalfe_2020_21819D. Metcalfe. “Unpublished data: Traits of Poaceae spp, CSIRO”. 2020.
RBGV_202379VicFlora. Flora of Victoria, Royal Botanic Gardens Victoria. accessed on 6 May, 2022.. 2023. url: https://vicflora.rbg.vic.gov.au/.
ABRS_202368Australian Biological Resources Study. Flora of Australia, Australian Biological Resources Study, Canberra.. accessed on 14 September, 2022.. 2023. url: http://www.ausflora.org.au.
NHNSW_2014_277Royal Botanic Gardens Sydney. PLantNET: NSW flora online. 2014. url: http://plantnet.rbgsyd.nsw.gov.au/.
NHNSW_202355N. H. of New South Wales. The Plant Information Network System of The Royal Botanic Gardens and Domain Trust Version 2.0.. accessed on 6 May, 2022.. 2023. url: https://plantnet.rbgsyd.nsw.gov.au/.
NHNSW_202244N. H. of New South Wales. The Plant Information Network System of The Royal Botanic Gardens and Domain Trust Version 2.0.. accessed on 6 May, 2022.. 2022. url: https://plantnet.rbgsyd.nsw.gov.au/.
NSWFRD_201444B. Kenny, C. Orscheg, E. Tasker, M. A. Gill, and R. Bradstock. NSW Flora Fire Response Database, v2.1. database. NSW Department of Planning Industry and Environment, 2014.
SAH_202344S. H. of South Australia. eFlora of SA, Electronic Flora of South Australia. accessed on 6 May, 2022.. 2022. url: http://www.flora.sa.gov.au/.
WAH_2022_144Western Australian Herbarium. Florabase—the Western Australian Flora.. accessed on 14 September, 2022.. 2022. url: https://florabase.dpaw.wa.gov.au/.
WAH_2022_244Western Australian Herbarium. Florabase—the Western Australian Flora.. accessed on 14 September, 2022.. 2022. url: https://florabase.dpaw.wa.gov.au/.
WAH_2023_234Western Australian Herbarium. Florabase—the Western Australian Flora.. accessed on 14 September, 2022.. 2023. url: https://florabase.dpaw.wa.gov.au/.
ABRS_202233Australian Biological Resources Study. Flora of Australia, Australian Biological Resources Study, Canberra.. accessed on 14 September, 2022.. 2022. url: http://www.ausflora.org.au.
RBGV_202233VicFlora. Flora of Victoria, Royal Botanic Gardens Victoria. accessed on 6 May, 2022.. 2022. url: https://vicflora.rbg.vic.gov.au/.
SAH_202233S. H. of South Australia. eFlora of SA, Electronic Flora of South Australia. accessed on 6 May, 2022.. 2022. url: http://www.flora.sa.gov.au/.
SAH_201422J. P. Jessop and H. R. Toelken. Flora of South Australia, 4th edition, 4 vols. Electronic version curated by J. Kellermann, State Herbarium of South Australia.. Government Printer, Adelaide, 1986.
Simpson_202122K. J. Simpson, E. C. Jardine, S. Archibald, E. J. Forrestel, C. E. R. Lehmann, G. H. Thomas, and C. P. Osborne. “Resprouting grasses are associated with less frequent fire than seeders”. New Phytologist 230 (2021), pp. 832-844. doi: 10.1111/nph.17069.
WAH_2023_122Western Australian Herbarium. Florabase—the Western Australian Flora.. accessed on 14 September, 2022.. 2023. url: https://florabase.dpaw.wa.gov.au/.
Wenk_202222E. Wenk. “Unpublished data: Australian plant growth forms dataset”. 2022.
Crowley_200711G. Crowley, M. Gardener, and M. Marrinan. Tropical savannas fire response database. 2007. url: [www.landmanager.org.au](www.landmanager.org.au).
Kubiak_200911P. J. Kubiak. “Fire responses of bushland plants after the January 1994 wildfires in northern Sydney”. Cunninghamia 11.1 (2009), pp. 131-165.
Wenk_202311E. Wenk. “Unpublished data: Australian plant life history dataset, University of New South Wales, Sydney”. 2023.
Yang_202311S. Yang. “Unpublished data: Fire response traits scored from national and state floras and the taxonomic literature, University of New South Wales”. 2023.