AusTraits

Eleocharis acuta

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Family Cyperaceae

Taxonomy: Eleocharis acuta R.Br.

Synonyms: 16 (APC 2026-07-30)
  • Eleocharis acuta R.Br. var. acuta (nomenclatural synonym)
  • Eleocharis acuta var. platylepis Hook.f. (taxonomic synonym)
  • Eleocharis bivaginata Steud. (taxonomic synonym)
  • Eleocharis mucronulata Nees (taxonomic synonym)
  • Eleocharis mucronulata Nees var. mucronulata (taxonomic synonym)
  • Eleocharis mucronulata var. minor Nees (taxonomic synonym)
  • Eleocharis palustris var. mucronulata Boeckeler (taxonomic synonym)
  • Helcocharis acuta F.Muell. (orthographic variant)
  • Heleocharis acuta Boeckeler (orthographic variant)
  • Heleocharis mucronulata Boeckeler (taxonomic synonym)
  • Heleocharis mucronulata var. minor Boeckeler (taxonomic synonym)
  • Heleocharis palustris var. mucronulata Boeckeler (taxonomic synonym)
  • Scirpus acuta Poir. (nomenclatural synonym)
  • Scirpus acutus (R.Br.) Poir. (nomenclatural synonym)
  • Scirpus acutus Spreng. (doubtful taxonomic synonym)
  • Scirpus mucronulatus (Nees) Kuntze (taxonomic synonym)
Misapplied names: 3 (APC 2026-07-30)
  • Eleocharis dietrichiana Boeckeler (misapplied)
  • Eleocharis gracilis R.Br. (misapplied)
  • Eleocharis pallens S.T.Blake (misapplied)

Distribution (APC): WA, SA, Qld, NSW, NI, ACT, Vic, Tas

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

Traits

Top source datasets: Britton_1994 (2), Catford_2014 (10), Cheal_2017 (6), Cross_2009 (4), Draper_2023 (3), Jordan_2001 (7), Kew_2019_1 (2), Kew_2019_6 (1), Mokany_2015 (2), Morgan_2011_1 (5), Munroe_2019 (1), NHNSW_2014_2 (1), NHNSW_2022 (4), NHNSW_2023 (9), RBGV_2022 (4), RBGV_2023 (9), SAH_2014 (1), SAH_2022 (2), SAH_2023 (4), Sjostrom_2006 (4), WAH_1998 (1), WAH_2022_2 (4), WAH_2023_2 (2), Wenk_2022 (2), Wenk_2023 (1), Wheeler_2002 (6), White_2020 (20), Williams_2011 (11). See below for a full list of sources.
Summary: AusTraits contains 56 traits from 128 records in 28 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
  • sex_type (categorical): hermaphrodite (2); monoecious (1) [sources: Jordan_2001; Sjostrom_2006]
fruit morphology
  • fruit_length (numerical): 1.48 mm (1-1.7 mm) [sources: NHNSW_2023; RBGV_2023]
  • fruit_width (numerical): 1.08 mm (0.8-1.2 mm) [sources: NHNSW_2023; RBGV_2023]
  • fruit_height (numerical): 1.08 mm (0.8-1.2 mm) [sources: NHNSW_2023; RBGV_2023]
  • fruit_type (categorical): nut (4) [sources: NHNSW_2023; RBGV_2023; SAH_2023; Sjostrom_2006]
  • fruit_fleshiness (categorical): dry (2) [sources: Jordan_2001; Sjostrom_2006]
  • fruit_dehiscence (categorical): indehiscent (1) [sources: Sjostrom_2006]
  • fruit_colour (categorical): brown (3); yellow (3) [sources: NHNSW_2023; RBGV_2023; SAH_2023]
leaf morphology
  • leaf_area (numerical): 790.93 mm2 (706.86-875 mm2) [sources: Catford_2014; Mokany_2015]
  • leaf_dry_mass (numerical): 123.1 mg (123.1-123.1 mg) [sources: Catford_2014]
  • leaf_mass_per_area (numerical): 127.99 g/m2 (115.34-140.65 g/m2) [sources: Catford_2014; Cross_2009]
  • leaf_shape (categorical): linear (1) [sources: Wheeler_2002]
  • leaf_base_shape (categorical): sheathing (1) [sources: SAH_2023]
  • leaf_lobation (categorical): unlobed (1) [sources: Wheeler_2002]
  • leaf_compoundness (categorical): simple (1) [sources: Wheeler_2002]
life history
  • photosynthetic_pathway (categorical): c3 (2); c4 (1) [sources: Munroe_2019; White_2020; Williams_2011]
  • plant_growth_form (categorical): graminoid (6); graminoid_not_tussock (1); herb (6) [sources: Catford_2014; NHNSW_2022; RBGV_2022; SAH_2022; WAH_2022_2; Wenk_2022; Wheeler_2002; White_2020; Williams_2011]
  • life_form (categorical): geophyte (1); hemicryptophyte (1); hydrophyte (1) [sources: Cheal_2017; Morgan_2011_1; Williams_2011]
  • life_history (categorical): perennial (10) [sources: Catford_2014; Cheal_2017; Cross_2009; Jordan_2001; Morgan_2011_1; NHNSW_2022; RBGV_2022; WAH_2022_2; Wenk_2023; Wheeler_2002]
  • plant_growth_substrate (categorical): aquatic (1) [sources: Williams_2011]
  • woodiness_detailed (categorical): herbaceous (5); woody_root (1) [sources: NHNSW_2022; RBGV_2022; SAH_2022; WAH_2022_2; Wenk_2022]
  • stem_growth_habit (categorical): rhizomatous (4); submerged (1) [sources: Catford_2014; NHNSW_2022; RBGV_2022; WAH_2022_2; Williams_2011]
  • nitrogen_fixing (categorical): non_nitrogen_fixer (2) [sources: White_2020; Williams_2011]
  • root_structure (categorical): non_mycorrhizal (1) [sources: Williams_2011]
  • parasitic (categorical): not_parasitic (1) [sources: White_2020]
  • pollination_syndrome (categorical): abiotic (1); insect (1); wind (1) [sources: Draper_2023; White_2020]
  • pollination_system (categorical): abiotic (1) [sources: Williams_2011]
  • dispersal_syndrome (categorical): epizoochory (1); hydrochory (2); undefined (1) [sources: Draper_2023; Morgan_2011_1; White_2020; Williams_2011]
  • dispersers (categorical): birds (1); water (1) [sources: Draper_2023; White_2020]
  • flowering_time (categorical): nnnnnnnnyyyy (1); yynnnnnnyyyy (2) [sources: NHNSW_2014_2; WAH_1998; White_2020]
  • seedbank_longevity_class (categorical): persistent (1) [sources: White_2020]
  • vegetative_reproduction_ability (categorical): vegetative (3) [sources: Catford_2014; Morgan_2011_1; White_2020]
  • clonal_spread_mechanism (categorical): rhizome (1) [sources: Williams_2011]
  • storage_organ (categorical): rhizome (3); rhizome_woody (1) [sources: NHNSW_2023; RBGV_2023; SAH_2023; WAH_2023_2]
seed morphology
  • seed_dry_mass (numerical): 0.56 mg (0.43-0.72 mg) [sources: Catford_2014; Cross_2009; Kew_2019_1]
  • seed_length (numerical): 1.5 mm (1.5-1.5 mm) [sources: Jordan_2001]
  • seed_width (numerical): 0.8 mm (0.8-0.8 mm) [sources: Jordan_2001]
whole plant morphology

Sources

dataset_idn_traitsn_recordsreference
White_20202020M. White, S. Sinclair, and D. Frood. Victorian Vital Attributes Database. database. Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning, Victoria, 2020.
Williams_20111111R. P. Duncan, S. E. Clemants, R. T. Corlett, A. K. Hahs, M. A. McCarthy, M. J. McDonnell, M. W. Schwartz, K. Thompson, P. A. Vesk, and N. S. G. Williams. “Plant traits and extinction in urban areas: a meta-analysis of 11 cities”. Global Ecology and Biogeography 20.4 (2011), pp. 509-519. doi: 10.1111/j.1466-8238.2010.00633.x.
Catford_20141010J. A. Catford, W. K. Morris, P. A. Vesk, C. J. Gippel, and B. J. Downes. “Species and environmental characteristics point to flow regulation and drought as drivers of riparian plant invasion”. Diversity and Distributions 20 (2014), pp. 1084-1096. doi: 10.1111/ddi.12225.
NHNSW_202369N. 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_202369VicFlora. Flora of Victoria, Royal Botanic Gardens Victoria. accessed on 6 May, 2022.. 2023. url: https://vicflora.rbg.vic.gov.au/.
Jordan_200177G. J. Jordan. “An investigation of long-distance dispersal based on species native to both Tasmania and New Zealand”. Australian Journal of Botany 49.3 (2001), pp. 333-340. doi: 10.1071/bt00024.
Cheal_201766D. 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.
Wheeler_200266J. R. Wheeler, N. G. Marchant, and M. Lewington. Flora of the south west: Bunbury, Augusta, Denmark. Australian Biological Resources Study ; University of Western Australia Press, 2002. ISBN: 9780642568168.
Morgan_2011_155J. Morgan. “Unpublished data: Grassy woodland traits, La Trobe University”. 2011.
Cross_200944E. Cross. “The characteristics of natives and invaders: A trait-based investigation into the theory of limiting similarity.”. Honours. La Trobe University, 2009.
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/.
RBGV_202244VicFlora. Flora of Victoria, Royal Botanic Gardens Victoria. accessed on 6 May, 2022.. 2022. url: https://vicflora.rbg.vic.gov.au/.
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/.
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_244Western Australian Herbarium. Florabase—the Western Australian Flora.. accessed on 14 September, 2022.. 2022. url: https://florabase.dpaw.wa.gov.au/.
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.
Britton_199412D. L. Britton and M. A. Brock. “Seasonal germination from wetland seed banks”. Marine and Freshwater Research 45.8 (1994), pp. 1445-1457. doi: 10.1071/mf9941445.
Kew_2019_112Royal Botanic Gardens Kew. Seed Information Database (SID) and Seed Bank Database. 2019. url: http://data.kew.org/sid/.
Mokany_201522K. Mokany, J. J. Thomson, A. J. J. Lynch, G. J. Jordan, and S. Ferrier. “Linking changes in community composition and function under climate change”. Ecological Applications 25.8 (2015), pp. 2132-2141. doi: 10.1890/14-2384.1.
SAH_202222S. 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_2023_222Western 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.
Kew_2019_611Royal Botanic Gardens Kew. Germination 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.
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_199811Western Australian Herbarium. FloraBase: The Western Australian flora. 1998. url: http://florabase.dpaw.wa.gov.au.
Wenk_202311E. Wenk. “Unpublished data: Australian plant life history dataset, University of New South Wales, Sydney”. 2023.