AusTraits

Dichanthium sericeum

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Family Poaceae

Taxonomy: Dichanthium sericeum (R.Br.) A.Camus

Synonyms: 18 (APC 2026-07-30)
  • Andropogon acutiusculus Hack. (taxonomic synonym)
  • Andropogon affinis R.Br. (taxonomic synonym)
  • Andropogon chrysatherus F.Muell. (taxonomic synonym)
  • Andropogon sericeus R.Br. (nomenclatural synonym)
  • Andropogon sericeus R.Br. f. sericeus (nomenclatural synonym)
  • Andropogon sericeus R.Br. var. sericeus (nomenclatural synonym)
  • Andropogon sericeus f. ciliatus Domin (taxonomic synonym)
  • Andropogon sericeus f. glaberrimus Domin (taxonomic synonym)
  • Andropogon sericeus f. puberulus Domin (taxonomic synonym)
  • Andropogon sericeus var. mollis F.M.Bailey (taxonomic synonym)
  • Andropogon sericeus var. typicus Domin (nomenclatural synonym)
  • Dichanthium acutiusculum (Hack.) A.Camus (taxonomic synonym)
  • Dichanthium affine (R.Br.) A.Camus (taxonomic synonym)
  • Dichanthium caricosum subvar. racemosum Roberty (taxonomic synonym)
  • Dichanthium racemosum Roberty (taxonomic synonym)
  • Dichanthium sericeum var. molle (F.M.Bailey) de Wet & J.R.Harlan (taxonomic synonym)
  • Sorgum acutiusculum (Hack.) Kuntze (taxonomic synonym)
  • Sorgum affine (R.Br.) Kuntze (taxonomic synonym)
Misapplied names: 1 (APC 2026-07-30)
  • Andropogon annulatus Forssk. (misapplied)

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

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

Traits

Top source datasets: Cheal_2017 (5), Crowley_2007 (1), Draper_2023 (3), Hughes_1992 (3), Jurado_1991 (5), Jurado_1992 (3), Kew_2019_1 (2), Kew_2019_5 (1), Leishman_1992 (7), Metcalfe_2020_2 (18), Moore_2019_2 (55), Munroe_2019 (1), NHNSW_2014_2 (4), NHNSW_2022 (4), NHNSW_2023 (6), NTH_2022 (3), NTH_2023 (8), Roberts_2006 (1), SAH_2022 (7), SAH_2023 (8), Simpson_2021 (2), Sjostrom_2006 (4), Soliveres_2012 (3), WAH_2022_2 (3), WAH_2023_2 (3), Wenk_2022 (2), Wenk_2023 (1), White_2020 (18), eFLOWER_Dun_2022 (8). See below for a full list of sources.
Summary: AusTraits contains 57 traits from 189 records in 29 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): partial_resprouting (16); resprouts (4) [sources: Cheal_2017; Crowley_2007; Moore_2019_2]
flower morphology
  • flower_colour (categorical): blue_purple (2); green (1); red_brown (1); white_cream (1) [sources: NHNSW_2014_2; eFLOWER_Dun_2022]
  • sex_type (categorical): andromonoecious (2) [sources: Metcalfe_2020_2; Sjostrom_2006]
fruit morphology
  • fruit_length (numerical): 1.8 mm (1.8-1.8 mm) [sources: NTH_2023]
  • fruit_type (categorical): caryopsis (7) [sources: Metcalfe_2020_2; NHNSW_2023; NTH_2023; SAH_2023; Sjostrom_2006; 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): 627.97 mm2 (207-1994.21 mm2) [sources: Jurado_1991; Leishman_1992; Metcalfe_2020_2; Moore_2019_2]
  • leaf_length (numerical): 145 mm (80-270 mm) [sources: Metcalfe_2020_2; NTH_2023]
  • leaf_width (numerical): 3.25 mm (2-5.5 mm) [sources: Metcalfe_2020_2; NHNSW_2023; NTH_2023]
  • leaf_dry_mass (numerical): 272 mg (237-312 mg) [sources: Moore_2019_2]
  • leaf_mass_per_area (numerical): 148.57 g/m2 (118.91-173.91 g/m2) [sources: Moore_2019_2]
  • leaf_dry_matter_content (numerical): 0.31 g/g (0.27-0.37 g/g) [sources: Moore_2019_2]
  • leaf_margin (categorical): entire (1) [sources: NHNSW_2014_2]
  • leaf_compoundness (categorical): simple (2) [sources: Metcalfe_2020_2; NHNSW_2014_2]
  • leaf_lamina_posture (categorical): flat (2) [sources: SAH_2023]
  • leaf_phyllotaxis (categorical): alternate (1) [sources: NHNSW_2023]
  • plant_photosynthetic_organ (categorical): leaf (4) [sources: NHNSW_2023; NTH_2023; SAH_2023]
life history
  • photosynthetic_pathway (categorical): c4 (3) [sources: Moore_2019_2; Munroe_2019; White_2020]
  • plant_growth_form (categorical): graminoid (9); herb (4); tussock (3) [sources: Hughes_1992; Jurado_1991; Leishman_1992; Metcalfe_2020_2; NHNSW_2022; NTH_2022; SAH_2022; Soliveres_2012; WAH_2022_2; Wenk_2022; White_2020]
  • life_form (categorical): hemicryptophyte (1); therophyte (1) [sources: Metcalfe_2020_2]
  • life_history (categorical): annual (3); biennial (1); perennial (7) [sources: Cheal_2017; Leishman_1992; Moore_2019_2; NHNSW_2022; NTH_2022; SAH_2022; Simpson_2021; WAH_2022_2; Wenk_2023]
  • woodiness_detailed (categorical): herbaceous (6) [sources: NHNSW_2022; NTH_2022; SAH_2022; WAH_2022_2; Wenk_2022]
  • stem_growth_habit (categorical): erect (2); tufted (1) [sources: Moore_2019_2; NHNSW_2022; SAH_2022]
  • nitrogen_fixing (categorical): non_nitrogen_fixer (1) [sources: White_2020]
  • root_structure (categorical): non_mycorrhizal (1) [sources: Metcalfe_2020_2]
  • parasitic (categorical): not_parasitic (1) [sources: White_2020]
  • pollination_syndrome (categorical): abiotic (1); self (1); wind (2) [sources: Draper_2023; Metcalfe_2020_2; White_2020]
  • dispersal_syndrome (categorical): anemochory (5); epizoochory (1) [sources: Draper_2023; Jurado_1991; Kew_2019_5; Metcalfe_2020_2; Soliveres_2012; White_2020]
  • dispersers (categorical): mammals (1); wind (2) [sources: Draper_2023; Soliveres_2012; White_2020]
  • flowering_time (categorical): yynnnnnnnnny (2); yyyynnnnnnyy (1) [sources: Hughes_1992; NHNSW_2014_2; White_2020]
  • seedbank_longevity_class (categorical): persistent (1) [sources: White_2020]
  • vegetative_reproduction_ability (categorical): not_vegetative (2) [sources: Metcalfe_2020_2; White_2020]
  • storage_organ (categorical): no_storage_organ (1) [sources: Leishman_1992]
  • bud_bank_location (categorical): bud-bearing_root (1); root_crown (1) [sources: Moore_2019_2; Simpson_2021]
seed morphology
  • seed_dry_mass (numerical): 1.03 mg (0.52-1.4 mg) [sources: Kew_2019_1; Leishman_1992; Metcalfe_2020_2; Roberts_2006]
whole plant morphology

Sources

dataset_idn_traitsn_recordsreference
Moore_2019_21255N. A. Moore, J. S. Camac, and J. W. Morgan. “Effects of drought and fire on resprouting capacity of 52 temperate Australian perennial native grasses”. New Phytologist 221.3 (2018), pp. 1424-1433. doi: 10.1111/nph.15480.
Metcalfe_2020_21618D. Metcalfe. “Unpublished data: Traits of Poaceae spp, CSIRO”. 2020.
White_20201818M. White, S. Sinclair, and D. Frood. Victorian Vital Attributes Database. database. Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning, Victoria, 2020.
NTH_202368D. of Land Resource Management and N. T. of Australia. Northern Territory Flora Online. accessed on 6 May, 2022.. 2022. url: http://eflora.nt.gov.au/.
SAH_202348S. 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/.
eFLOWER_Dun_202258L. Dun and H. Sauquet. “Unpublished: Floral traits for GAP taxa, University of New South Wales, Australia”. 2022.
Leishman_199277M. R. Leishman and M. Westoby. “Classifying plants into groups on the basis of associations of individual traits-Evidence from Australian semi-arid woodlands”. Journal of Ecology 80 (1992), pp. 417-424. doi: 10.2307/2260687.
SAH_202247S. 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/.
NHNSW_202356N. 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/.
Cheal_201755D. Cheal. Growth stages and tolerable fire intervals for Victoria's native vegetation data sets. Fire and adaptive management, report no. 84. Victorian Government Department of Sustainability and Environment Melbourne, 2010.
Jurado_199155E. Jurado. “Diaspore weight, dispersal, growth form and perenniality of central Australian plants”. Journal of Ecology 79 (1991), pp. 811-828.
NHNSW_2014_244Royal Botanic Gardens Sydney. PLantNET: NSW flora online. 2014. url: http://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/.
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.
Draper_202333J. T. Draper, S. Delean, J. G. Conran, P. Weinstein, and B. S. Simpson. “Life-history characteristics and climate correlates of dioecious plant species in central southern Australia”. Australian Journal of Botany unknown.unknown (2023), p. unknown. doi: 10.1071/BT22110.
Hughes_199233L. Hughes and B. Rice. “Unpublished data: Traits data for 643 species, Macquarie University”. 1992.
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.
NTH_202233D. of Land Resource Management and N. T. of Australia. Northern Territory Flora Online. accessed on 6 May, 2022.. 2022. url: http://eflora.nt.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_2022_233Western Australian Herbarium. Florabase—the Western Australian Flora.. accessed on 14 September, 2022.. 2022. url: https://florabase.dpaw.wa.gov.au/.
WAH_2023_223Western Australian Herbarium. Florabase—the Western Australian Flora.. accessed on 14 September, 2022.. 2023. url: https://florabase.dpaw.wa.gov.au/.
Kew_2019_112Royal Botanic Gardens Kew. Seed Information Database (SID) and Seed Bank Database. 2019. url: http://data.kew.org/sid/.
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.
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).
Kew_2019_511Royal Botanic Gardens Kew. Seed dispersal data from the Seed Information Database (SID) and Seed Bank Database. 2019. url: http://data.kew.org/sid/.
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.
Roberts_200611B. Roberts. “Unpublished data: Seed traits, La Trobe University”. 2006.
Wenk_202311E. Wenk. “Unpublished data: Australian plant life history dataset, University of New South Wales, Sydney”. 2023.