AusTraits

Cenchrus ciliaris

Explore the data for this taxon in the portal

Family Poaceae

Taxonomy: Cenchrus ciliaris L.

Synonyms: 2 (APC 2026-07-30)
  • Pennisetum cenchroides Rich. (nomenclatural synonym)
  • Pennisetum ciliare (L.) Link (nomenclatural synonym)

Distribution (APC): WA (naturalised), CoI (naturalised), AR (naturalised), NT (naturalised), SA (naturalised), Qld (naturalised), NSW (naturalised)

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

Traits

Top source datasets: Crowley_2007 (2), Jurado_1991 (6), Jurado_1992 (3), Metcalfe_2020_2 (23), Munroe_2019 (1), NHNSW_2014_2 (1), NHNSW_2022 (3), NHNSW_2023 (7), Nano_2011 (2), RBGV_2022 (4), RBGV_2023 (7), SAH_2014 (1), SAH_2022 (3), SAH_2023 (6), Schmidt_2010 (223), Sjostrom_2006 (4), Soliveres_2012 (3), Soper_2014 (81), WAH_2022_1 (4), WAH_2022_2 (4), WAH_2023_1 (1), WAH_2023_2 (3), Wenk_2022 (2), Wenk_2023 (1), White_2020 (4), Yang_2023 (2), eFLOWER_Dun_2022 (7). See below for a full list of sources.
Summary: AusTraits contains 64 traits from 408 records in 27 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
flower morphology
  • flower_colour (categorical): blue_purple (1) [sources: eFLOWER_Dun_2022]
  • sex_type (categorical): andromonoecious (1); hermaphrodite (1) [sources: Metcalfe_2020_2; Sjostrom_2006]
fruit morphology
  • fruit_length (numerical): 1.15 mm (1-1.3 mm) [sources: Metcalfe_2020_2]
  • fruit_type (categorical): caryopsis (7) [sources: Metcalfe_2020_2; NHNSW_2023; RBGV_2023; SAH_2023; Sjostrom_2006; WAH_2023_1; WAH_2023_2]
  • fruit_fleshiness (categorical): dry (2) [sources: Metcalfe_2020_2; Sjostrom_2006]
  • fruit_dehiscence (categorical): dehiscent (1); indehiscent (2) [sources: Metcalfe_2020_2; Sjostrom_2006]
leaf morphology
  • leaf_area (numerical): 444 mm2 (300-588 mm2) [sources: Jurado_1991; Metcalfe_2020_2]
  • leaf_length (numerical): 195 mm (30-250 mm) [sources: Metcalfe_2020_2; RBGV_2023]
  • leaf_width (numerical): 6.62 mm (2-10 mm) [sources: Metcalfe_2020_2; NHNSW_2023; RBGV_2023; SAH_2023]
  • leaf_shape (categorical): linear (1) [sources: SAH_2023]
  • leaf_compoundness (categorical): simple (1) [sources: Metcalfe_2020_2]
  • leaf_lamina_posture (categorical): flat (3); involute (1) [sources: NHNSW_2023; RBGV_2023; SAH_2023]
  • leaf_phyllotaxis (categorical): alternate (2) [sources: NHNSW_2023; RBGV_2023]
  • plant_photosynthetic_organ (categorical): leaf (3) [sources: NHNSW_2023; RBGV_2023; SAH_2023]
life history
  • photosynthetic_pathway (categorical): c4 (2) [sources: Metcalfe_2020_2; Munroe_2019]
  • plant_growth_form (categorical): graminoid (8); herb (3); tussock (3) [sources: Jurado_1991; Metcalfe_2020_2; NHNSW_2022; RBGV_2022; SAH_2022; Soliveres_2012; Soper_2014; WAH_2022_1; WAH_2022_2; Wenk_2022]
  • life_form (categorical): hemicryptophyte (1) [sources: Metcalfe_2020_2]
  • life_history (categorical): annual (1); perennial (6) [sources: NHNSW_2022; RBGV_2022; SAH_2022; WAH_2022_1; WAH_2022_2; Wenk_2023]
  • woodiness_detailed (categorical): herbaceous (6) [sources: NHNSW_2022; RBGV_2022; SAH_2022; WAH_2022_1; WAH_2022_2; Wenk_2022]
  • stem_growth_habit (categorical): caespitose (2); rhizomatous (2); stoloniferous (1) [sources: RBGV_2022; WAH_2022_1; WAH_2022_2]
  • nitrogen_fixing (categorical): non_nitrogen_fixer (1) [sources: White_2020]
  • root_structure (categorical): arbuscular_mycorrhizal (1) [sources: Metcalfe_2020_2]
  • parasitic (categorical): not_parasitic (1) [sources: White_2020]
  • pollination_syndrome (categorical): wind (1) [sources: Metcalfe_2020_2]
  • dispersal_syndrome (categorical): anemochory (3); epizoochory (1) [sources: Jurado_1991; Metcalfe_2020_2; Soliveres_2012]
  • dispersers (categorical): wind (1) [sources: Soliveres_2012]
  • flowering_time (categorical): yynnnnnnnnny (1) [sources: NHNSW_2014_2]
  • vegetative_reproduction_ability (categorical): not_vegetative (1); vegetative (1) [sources: Metcalfe_2020_2; White_2020]
  • clonal_spread_mechanism (categorical): belowground_clonal (1) [sources: Metcalfe_2020_2]
  • storage_organ (categorical): rhizome (1) [sources: RBGV_2023]
  • bud_bank_location (categorical): basal_stem_buds (2) [sources: Crowley_2007; Nano_2011]
nutrient and stable isotope
  • leaf_N_per_dry_mass (numerical): 17.86 mg/g (8.12-30.24 mg/g) [sources: Schmidt_2010; Soper_2014]
  • leaf_P_per_dry_mass (numerical): 1.97 mg/g (0.62-3.71 mg/g) [sources: Schmidt_2010]
  • leaf_delta13C (numerical): -12.75 {delta}[ppth] (-13.72--12.02 {delta}[ppth]) [sources: Schmidt_2010; Soper_2014]
seed morphology
  • seed_dry_mass (numerical): 0.76 mg (0.52-1 mg) [sources: Jurado_1991; Metcalfe_2020_2]
whole plant morphology

Sources

dataset_idn_traitsn_recordsreference
Schmidt_201016223S. Schmidt, R. E. Lamble, R. J. Fensham, and I. Siddique. “Effect of woody vegetation clearing on nutrient and carbon relations of semi-arid dystrophic savanna”. Plant and Soil 331.1-2 (2009), pp. 79-90. doi: 10.1007/s11104-009-0233-5.
Soper_2014981F. M. Soper, A. E. Richards, I. Siddique, M. P. M. Aidar, G. D. Cook, L. B. Hutley, N. Robinson, and S. Schmidt. “Natural abundance (delta15N) indicates shifts in nitrogen relations of woody taxa along a savanna-woodland continental rainfall gradient”. Oecologia 178.1 (2014), pp. 297-308. doi: 10.1007/s00442-014-3176-3.
Metcalfe_2020_22023D. Metcalfe. “Unpublished data: Traits of Poaceae spp, CSIRO”. 2020.
NHNSW_202367N. 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/.
RBGV_202377VicFlora. Flora of Victoria, Royal Botanic Gardens Victoria. accessed on 6 May, 2022.. 2023. url: https://vicflora.rbg.vic.gov.au/.
eFLOWER_Dun_202267L. Dun and H. Sauquet. “Unpublished: Floral traits for GAP taxa, University of New South Wales, Australia”. 2022.
Jurado_199166E. Jurado. “Diaspore weight, dispersal, growth form and perenniality of central Australian plants”. Journal of Ecology 79 (1991), pp. 811-828.
SAH_202356S. 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/.
RBGV_202244VicFlora. Flora of Victoria, Royal Botanic Gardens Victoria. accessed on 6 May, 2022.. 2022. url: https://vicflora.rbg.vic.gov.au/.
Sjostrom_200644A. Sjöström and C. L. Gross. “Life-history characters and phylogeny are correlated with extinction risk in the Australian angiosperms”. Journal of Biogeography 33.2 (2006), pp. 271-290. doi: 10.1111/j.1365-2699.2005.01393.x.
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/.
White_202044M. White, S. Sinclair, and D. Frood. Victorian Vital Attributes Database. database. Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning, Victoria, 2020.
Jurado_199213E. Jurado and M. Westoby. “Germination biology of selected central Australian plants”. Austral Ecology 17.3 (1992), pp. 341-348. doi: 10.1111/j.1442-9993.1992.tb00816.x.
NHNSW_202233N. 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/.
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/.
Soliveres_201233S. Soliveres, D. J. Eldridge, F. Hemmings, and F. T. Maestre. “Nurse plant effects on plant species richness in drylands: The role of grazing, rainfall and species specificity”. Perspectives in Plant Ecology, Evolution and Systematics 14 (2012), pp. 402-410. doi: 10.1016/j.ppees.2012.09.003.
WAH_2023_223Western Australian Herbarium. Florabase—the Western Australian Flora.. accessed on 14 September, 2022.. 2023. url: https://florabase.dpaw.wa.gov.au/.
Crowley_200722G. Crowley, M. Gardener, and M. Marrinan. Tropical savannas fire response database. 2007. url: [www.landmanager.org.au](www.landmanager.org.au).
Nano_201122C. E. M. Nano and P. J. Clarke. “How do drought and fire influence the patterns of resprouting in Australian deserts?”. Plant Ecology 212 (2011), pp. 2095-2110. doi: 10.1007/s11258-011-9988-x.
Wenk_202222E. Wenk. “Unpublished data: Australian plant growth forms dataset”. 2022.
Yang_202322S. Yang. “Unpublished data: Fire response traits scored from national and state floras and the taxonomic literature, University of New South Wales”. 2023.
Munroe_201911S. E. M. Munroe, F. A. McInerney, J. Andrae, N. Welti, G. R. Guerin, E. Leitch, T. Hall, S. Szarvas, R. Atkins, S. Caddy-Retalic, and B. Sparrow. “The Photosynthetic Pathways of Plant Species Surveyed in Australia's National Terrestrial Monitoring Network”. Scientific Data 8 (2021), p. 97. doi: 10.1038/s41597-021-00877-z.
NHNSW_2014_211Royal Botanic Gardens Sydney. PLantNET: NSW flora online. 2014. url: http://plantnet.rbgsyd.nsw.gov.au/.
SAH_201411J. 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.
WAH_2023_111Western Australian Herbarium. Florabase—the Western Australian Flora.. accessed on 14 September, 2022.. 2023. url: https://florabase.dpaw.wa.gov.au/.
Wenk_202311E. Wenk. “Unpublished data: Australian plant life history dataset, University of New South Wales, Sydney”. 2023.