AusTraits

Eleocharis gracilis

Explore the data for this taxon in the portal

Family Cyperaceae

Taxonomy: Eleocharis gracilis R.Br.

Synonyms: 6 (APC 2026-07-30)
  • Eleocharis cunninghamii Boeckeler (taxonomic synonym)
  • Eleocharis hookeri Boeckeler (taxonomic synonym)
  • Heleocharis gracilis F.Muell. (orthographic variant)
  • Scirpus cunninghamii (Boeckeler) Kuntze (taxonomic synonym)
  • Scirpus gracilis (R.Br.) Poir. (nomenclatural synonym)
  • Scirpus tener Spreng. (nomenclatural synonym)
Misapplied names: 1 (APC 2026-07-30)
  • Eleocharis multicaulis (Sm.) Sm. (misapplied)

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

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

Traits

Top source datasets: Cheal_2017 (5), Draper_2023 (3), Jordan_2001 (7), Kew_2019_1 (2), Mokany_2015 (2), 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), Wenk_2022 (2), Wenk_2023 (1), White_2020 (20), Williams_2011 (10). See below for a full list of sources.
Summary: AusTraits contains 47 traits from 90 records in 18 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): 1.25 mm (1-1.5 mm) [sources: NHNSW_2023; RBGV_2023]
  • fruit_width (numerical): 0.9 mm (0.8-1 mm) [sources: NHNSW_2023; RBGV_2023]
  • fruit_height (numerical): 0.9 mm (0.8-1 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 (2) [sources: NHNSW_2023; RBGV_2023; SAH_2023]
leaf morphology
  • leaf_area (numerical): 392.7 mm2 (392.7-392.7 mm2) [sources: Mokany_2015]
  • leaf_base_shape (categorical): sheathing (1) [sources: SAH_2023]
life history
  • photosynthetic_pathway (categorical): c3 (1); c4 (1) [sources: White_2020; Williams_2011]
  • plant_growth_form (categorical): graminoid (4); graminoid_not_tussock (1); herb (4) [sources: NHNSW_2022; RBGV_2022; SAH_2022; Wenk_2022; White_2020; Williams_2011]
  • life_form (categorical): hemicryptophyte (1) [sources: Williams_2011]
  • life_history (categorical): perennial (4); short_lived_perennial (1) [sources: Cheal_2017; Jordan_2001; NHNSW_2022; RBGV_2022; Wenk_2023]
  • woodiness_detailed (categorical): herbaceous (4) [sources: NHNSW_2022; RBGV_2022; SAH_2022; Wenk_2022]
  • stem_growth_habit (categorical): creeping (2); rhizomatous (2) [sources: NHNSW_2022; RBGV_2022]
  • 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 (2); hydrochory (1) [sources: Draper_2023; White_2020; Williams_2011]
  • dispersers (categorical): birds (1); water (1) [sources: Draper_2023; White_2020]
  • flowering_time (categorical): yynnnnnnyyyy (2) [sources: NHNSW_2014_2; White_2020]
  • seedbank_longevity_class (categorical): persistent (1) [sources: White_2020]
  • vegetative_reproduction_ability (categorical): vegetative (1) [sources: White_2020]
  • clonal_spread_mechanism (categorical): rhizome (1) [sources: Williams_2011]
  • storage_organ (categorical): rhizome (3) [sources: NHNSW_2023; RBGV_2023; SAH_2023]
seed morphology
  • seed_dry_mass (numerical): 0.43 mg (0.18-0.51 mg) [sources: Kew_2019_1; Mokany_2015]
  • seed_length (numerical): 1.25 mm (1.25-1.25 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_20111010R. 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.
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_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.
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.
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.
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/.
Wenk_202222E. Wenk. “Unpublished data: Australian plant growth forms dataset”. 2022.
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.
Wenk_202311E. Wenk. “Unpublished data: Australian plant life history dataset, University of New South Wales, Sydney”. 2023.