AusTraits

Machaerina acuta

Explore the data for this taxon in the portal

Family Cyperaceae

Taxonomy: Machaerina acuta (Labill.) J.Kern

Synonyms: 10 (APC 2026-07-30)
  • Baumea acuta (Labill.) Palla (nomenclatural synonym)
  • Baumea schoenoides Boeckeler (nomenclatural synonym)
  • Chapelliera schoenoides Nees (nomenclatural synonym)
  • Cladium acutum (Labill.) Poir. (nomenclatural synonym)
  • Cladium schaenoides R.Br. (nomenclatural synonym)
  • Cladium schoenoides R.Br. (nomenclatural synonym)
  • Gahnia schoenoides F.Muell. (nomenclatural synonym)
  • Machaerina schoenoides T.Koyama (nomenclatural synonym)
  • Mariscus acutus (Labill.) Kuntze (nomenclatural synonym)
  • Schoenus acutus Labill. (nomenclatural synonym)
Misapplied names: 1 (APC 2026-07-30)
  • Schoenus falcatus R.Br. (misapplied)

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

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

Traits

Top source datasets: Cheal_2017 (6), Draper_2023 (3), Hughes_1992 (2), Jordan_2001 (7), Mokany_2015 (3), NHNSW_2014_2 (4), NHNSW_2022 (4), NHNSW_2023 (13), NSWFRD_2014 (8), RBGV_2022 (4), RBGV_2023 (12), Sjostrom_2006 (4), WAH_1998 (1), WAH_2022_2 (4), WAH_2023_2 (3), Wenk_2022 (2), Wenk_2023 (1), Wheeler_2002 (10), White_2020 (20), Williams_2011 (8). See below for a full list of sources.
Summary: AusTraits contains 57 traits from 119 records in 20 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): red_brown (1) [sources: NHNSW_2014_2]
  • sex_type (categorical): hermaphrodite (2); monoecious (1) [sources: Jordan_2001; Sjostrom_2006]
fruit morphology
  • fruit_length (numerical): 1.85 mm (1.5-2.2 mm) [sources: NHNSW_2023; RBGV_2023]
  • fruit_width (numerical): 1.15 mm (1-1.3 mm) [sources: NHNSW_2023; RBGV_2023]
  • fruit_height (numerical): 1.15 mm (1-1.3 mm) [sources: NHNSW_2023; RBGV_2023]
  • fruit_type (categorical): nut (3) [sources: NHNSW_2023; RBGV_2023; Sjostrom_2006]
  • fruit_fleshiness (categorical): dry (2) [sources: Jordan_2001; Sjostrom_2006]
  • fruit_dehiscence (categorical): indehiscent (1) [sources: Sjostrom_2006]
  • fruit_colour (categorical): black (2); brown (2); red (2) [sources: NHNSW_2023; RBGV_2023]
leaf morphology
  • leaf_area (numerical): 589.05 mm2 (589.05-589.05 mm2) [sources: Mokany_2015]
  • leaf_length (numerical): 350 mm (150-550 mm) [sources: Wheeler_2002]
  • leaf_width (numerical): 1.6 mm (0.7-2.5 mm) [sources: NHNSW_2023; RBGV_2023; Wheeler_2002]
  • leaf_shape (categorical): linear (1) [sources: Wheeler_2002]
  • leaf_margin (categorical): entire (1) [sources: NHNSW_2014_2]
  • leaf_lobation (categorical): unlobed (1) [sources: Wheeler_2002]
  • leaf_compoundness (categorical): simple (2) [sources: NHNSW_2014_2; Wheeler_2002]
  • leaf_lamina_posture (categorical): convex (2); flat (2) [sources: NHNSW_2023; RBGV_2023]
  • leaf_arrangement (categorical): distichous (1) [sources: NHNSW_2023]
life history
  • photosynthetic_pathway (categorical): c3 (1); c4 (1) [sources: White_2020; Williams_2011]
  • plant_growth_form (categorical): graminoid (5); graminoid_not_tussock (1); herb (5); tussock (1) [sources: Hughes_1992; NHNSW_2022; NSWFRD_2014; RBGV_2022; WAH_2022_2; Wenk_2022; Wheeler_2002; White_2020; Williams_2011]
  • life_form (categorical): geophyte (1); hemicryptophyte (1) [sources: Cheal_2017; Williams_2011]
  • life_history (categorical): perennial (7) [sources: Cheal_2017; Jordan_2001; NHNSW_2022; RBGV_2022; WAH_2022_2; Wenk_2023; Wheeler_2002]
  • woodiness_detailed (categorical): herbaceous (4) [sources: NHNSW_2022; RBGV_2022; WAH_2022_2; Wenk_2022]
  • stem_growth_habit (categorical): dense (1); rhizomatous (3) [sources: NHNSW_2022; RBGV_2022; WAH_2022_2]
  • nitrogen_fixing (categorical): non_nitrogen_fixer (1) [sources: White_2020]
  • parasitic (categorical): not_parasitic (1) [sources: White_2020]
  • pollination_syndrome (categorical): vertebrate (1); wind (1) [sources: Draper_2023; White_2020]
  • pollination_system (categorical): abiotic (1) [sources: Williams_2011]
  • dispersal_syndrome (categorical): barochory (1); zoochory (2) [sources: Draper_2023; White_2020; Williams_2011]
  • dispersers (categorical): abiotic (1); animals (1); invertebrates (1) [sources: Draper_2023; White_2020]
  • flowering_time (categorical): nnnnnnnnyyyn (1); yynnnnnnyyyy (3) [sources: NHNSW_2014_2; NSWFRD_2014; WAH_1998; 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; WAH_2023_2]
  • bud_bank_location (categorical): rhizome (1) [sources: NSWFRD_2014]
seed morphology
  • seed_dry_mass (numerical): 1.55 mg (1.55-1.55 mg) [sources: Mokany_2015]
  • seed_length (numerical): 2.25 mm (2.25-2.25 mm) [sources: Jordan_2001]
  • seed_width (numerical): 1.8 mm (1.8-1.8 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.
NHNSW_2023913N. 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_2023812VicFlora. Flora of Victoria, Royal Botanic Gardens Victoria. accessed on 6 May, 2022.. 2023. url: https://vicflora.rbg.vic.gov.au/.
Wheeler_2002810J. 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.
NSWFRD_201488B. 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.
Williams_201188R. 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.
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.
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/.
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_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.
Mokany_201533K. 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.
WAH_2023_223Western Australian Herbarium. Florabase—the Western Australian Flora.. accessed on 14 September, 2022.. 2023. url: https://florabase.dpaw.wa.gov.au/.
Hughes_199222L. Hughes and B. Rice. “Unpublished data: Traits data for 643 species, Macquarie University”. 1992.
Wenk_202222E. Wenk. “Unpublished data: Australian plant growth forms dataset”. 2022.
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.