AusTraits

Rytidosperma caespitosum

Explore the data for this taxon in the portal

Family Poaceae

Taxonomy: Rytidosperma caespitosum (Gaudich.) Connor & Edgar

Synonyms: 8 (APC 2026-07-30)
  • Austrodanthonia caespitosa (Gaudich.) H.P.Linder (nomenclatural synonym)
  • Danthonia caespitosa Gaudich. (nomenclatural synonym)
  • Danthonia caespitosa Gaudich. var. caespitosa (nomenclatural synonym)
  • Danthonia caespitosa var. gracilis Nees (doubtful taxonomic synonym)
  • Danthonia semiannularis var. varia (Nees) Domin (taxonomic synonym)
  • Danthonia varia Nees (taxonomic synonym)
  • Nothodanthonnia caespitosa Tiver (taxonomic synonym)
  • Notodanthonia caespitosa (Gaudich.) Zotov (nomenclatural synonym)
Misapplied names: 1 (APC 2026-07-30)
  • Danthonia semiannularis (Labill.) R.Br. (misapplied)

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

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

Traits

Top source datasets: ABRS_2022 (4), ABRS_2023 (4), Burrows_2008_2 (8), Burrows_2020 (8), Cheal_2017 (6), Draper_2023 (2), Dwyer_2017 (13), Fonseca_2000 (9), Gosper_2018 (4), GrassBase_2014 (8), Jordan_2001 (7), Kew_2019_1 (2), Kew_2019_6 (5), Leishman_1992 (4), Meers_2007 (11), Mokany_2008 (121), Mokany_2015 (1), Moore_2019_2 (55), Morgan_2011_1 (5), Munroe_2019 (1), NHNSW_2014 (1), NHNSW_2014_2 (2), NHNSW_2022 (4), NHNSW_2023 (6), NSWFRD_2014 (9), OReillyNugent_2018 (1), Osborne_2014 (1), RBGV_2022 (3), RBGV_2023 (7), SAH_2014 (3), SAH_2022 (4), SAH_2023 (5), Schmidt_1993 (1), Simpson_2021 (3), Sjostrom_2006 (4), Soliveres_2012 (3), Standish_2019 (7), Tsakalos_2020 (18), Vesk_2004 (28), Vesk_2019 (185), WAH_2022_2 (3), WAH_2023_2 (2), Wenk_2022 (2), Wenk_2023 (1), Wheeler_2002 (10), White_2020 (36), Williams_2011 (9). See below for a full list of sources.
Summary: AusTraits contains 78 traits from 636 records in 47 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): fire_killed (2); partial_resprouting (17); resprouts (11) [sources: Burrows_2008_2; Burrows_2020; Cheal_2017; Meers_2007; Moore_2019_2; NSWFRD_2014; Simpson_2021; Standish_2019; Tsakalos_2020; Vesk_2004]
  • fire_time_from_fire_to_flowering (numerical): 17 mo (12-24 mo) [sources: Burrows_2020; NSWFRD_2014]
flower morphology
  • sex_type (categorical): andromonoecious (1); hermaphrodite (1); monoecious (1) [sources: Jordan_2001; Sjostrom_2006]
fruit morphology
  • fruit_length (numerical): 1.6 mm (1.2-2 mm) [sources: ABRS_2023]
  • fruit_type (categorical): caryopsis (5) [sources: ABRS_2023; NHNSW_2023; RBGV_2023; SAH_2023; Sjostrom_2006]
  • fruit_fleshiness (categorical): dry (3) [sources: Jordan_2001; Sjostrom_2006; Tsakalos_2020]
  • fruit_dehiscence (categorical): indehiscent (1) [sources: Sjostrom_2006]
leaf morphology
  • leaf_area (numerical): 458.11 mm2 (17.3-1602.48 mm2) [sources: Fonseca_2000; Leishman_1992; Meers_2007; Mokany_2008; Mokany_2015; Moore_2019_2; Vesk_2004]
  • leaf_length (numerical): 227.56 mm (46-350 mm) [sources: Mokany_2008; GrassBase_2014; NHNSW_2023; RBGV_2023; SAH_2014; Wheeler_2002]
  • leaf_width (numerical): 1.73 mm (0.4-4 mm) [sources: Fonseca_2000; Mokany_2008; GrassBase_2014; RBGV_2023; SAH_2014; Wheeler_2002]
  • leaf_dry_mass (numerical): 102.89 mg (3-422 mg) [sources: Fonseca_2000; Mokany_2008; Moore_2019_2]
  • leaf_mass_per_area (numerical): 98.57 g/m2 (44.84-276.24 g/m2) [sources: Dwyer_2017; Fonseca_2000; Meers_2007; Mokany_2008; Moore_2019_2; Vesk_2004]
  • leaf_mass_fraction (numerical): 0.19 g/g (0.13-0.3 g/g) [sources: Mokany_2008]
  • leaf_dry_matter_content (numerical): 0.33 g/g (0.26-0.41 g/g) [sources: Mokany_2008; Moore_2019_2; Vesk_2004]
  • leaf_shape (categorical): linear (1) [sources: Wheeler_2002]
  • leaf_margin (categorical): entire (1) [sources: Tsakalos_2020]
  • leaf_lobation (categorical): unlobed (1) [sources: Wheeler_2002]
  • leaf_compoundness (categorical): simple (3) [sources: NHNSW_2014_2; Tsakalos_2020; Wheeler_2002]
  • leaf_lamina_posture (categorical): conduplicate (1); flat (4); involute (3) [sources: NHNSW_2023; RBGV_2023; SAH_2023; Tsakalos_2020]
  • leaf_glaucousness (categorical): not_glaucous (2) [sources: Tsakalos_2020]
  • leaf_hairs_adult_leaves (categorical): glabrous (1); hairy (1) [sources: Tsakalos_2020]
  • leaf_phyllotaxis (categorical): alternate (2) [sources: NHNSW_2023; RBGV_2023]
  • leaf_inclination_angle (numerical): 64.4 deg (47-81 deg) [sources: Mokany_2008]
  • plant_photosynthetic_organ (categorical): leaf (5) [sources: ABRS_2023; NHNSW_2023; RBGV_2023; SAH_2023; Tsakalos_2020]
life history
  • photosynthetic_pathway (categorical): c3 (7); c4 (1) [sources: Mokany_2008; Moore_2019_2; Munroe_2019; Osborne_2014; Tsakalos_2020; White_2020; Williams_2011]
  • plant_growth_form (categorical): graminoid (10); herb (6); tussock (4) [sources: ABRS_2022; Fonseca_2000; Leishman_1992; NHNSW_2022; NSWFRD_2014; RBGV_2022; SAH_2022; Soliveres_2012; Standish_2019; Vesk_2004; Vesk_2019; WAH_2022_2; Wenk_2022; Wheeler_2002; White_2020; Williams_2011]
  • life_form (categorical): hemicryptophyte (5) [sources: Gosper_2018; Meers_2007; Mokany_2008; Morgan_2011_1; Williams_2011]
  • life_history (categorical): perennial (21) [sources: ABRS_2022; Burrows_2008_2; Burrows_2020; Cheal_2017; Gosper_2018; Jordan_2001; Leishman_1992; Moore_2019_2; Morgan_2011_1; NHNSW_2022; RBGV_2022; SAH_2022; Simpson_2021; Standish_2019; Tsakalos_2020; WAH_2022_2; Wenk_2023; Wheeler_2002]
  • woodiness_detailed (categorical): herbaceous (7) [sources: ABRS_2022; NHNSW_2022; RBGV_2022; SAH_2022; Tsakalos_2020; WAH_2022_2; Wenk_2022]
  • stem_growth_habit (categorical): caespitose (2); erect (2); tufted (1) [sources: ABRS_2022; Moore_2019_2; NHNSW_2022; SAH_2022; Tsakalos_2020]
  • nitrogen_fixing (categorical): non_nitrogen_fixer (6) [sources: Meers_2007; Mokany_2008; Standish_2019; White_2020; Williams_2011]
  • root_structure (categorical): arbuscular_mycorrhizal (5) [sources: Meers_2007; Schmidt_1993; Standish_2019; Tsakalos_2020; Williams_2011]
  • parasitic (categorical): not_parasitic (3) [sources: Tsakalos_2020; White_2020]
  • pollination_syndrome (categorical): abiotic (2); self (1); wind (1) [sources: Draper_2023; White_2020]
  • pollination_system (categorical): abiotic (1) [sources: Williams_2011]
  • dispersal_syndrome (categorical): anemochory (1); epizoochory (7); myrmecochory (1) [sources: Draper_2023; Meers_2007; Morgan_2011_1; NSWFRD_2014; Soliveres_2012; White_2020; Williams_2011]
  • dispersers (categorical): ants (1); mammals (2); wind (1) [sources: NSWFRD_2014; Soliveres_2012; White_2020]
  • flowering_time (categorical): nnnnnnnnyyyn (1); nnnnnnnnyyyy (2); nnnnnnnyyynn (1); yynnnnnnyyyy (2) [sources: NHNSW_2014; NHNSW_2014_2; NSWFRD_2014; Tsakalos_2020; White_2020]
  • seedbank_location (categorical): canopy_seedbank_absent (1); soil_seedbank (2) [sources: Gosper_2018; Standish_2019]
  • serotiny (categorical): not_serotinous (1) [sources: Gosper_2018]
  • seedbank_longevity_class (categorical): persistent (2) [sources: White_2020]
  • vegetative_reproduction_ability (categorical): not_vegetative (3); vegetative (1) [sources: Meers_2007; Morgan_2011_1; White_2020]
  • clonal_spread_mechanism (categorical): rhizome (2) [sources: Meers_2007; Williams_2011]
  • storage_organ (categorical): no_storage_organ (1) [sources: Leishman_1992]
  • bud_bank_location (categorical): basal_buds (5); bud-bearing_root (1); root_crown (1) [sources: Burrows_2008_2; Burrows_2020; Moore_2019_2; NSWFRD_2014; Simpson_2021]
seed morphology
  • seed_dry_mass (numerical): 0.72 mg (0.43-0.9 mg) [sources: Dwyer_2017; Kew_2019_1; Meers_2007; Standish_2019]
  • seed_length (numerical): 3.3 mm (1.2-5 mm) [sources: Jordan_2001; GrassBase_2014]
  • seed_width (numerical): 2 mm (2-2 mm) [sources: Jordan_2001]
whole plant morphology

Sources

dataset_idn_traitsn_recordsreference
Vesk_20193185P. A. Vesk and J. D. L. Yen. “Plant resprouting: How many sprouts and how deep? Flexible modelling of multispecies experimental disturbances.”. Perspectives in Plant Ecology, Evolution and Systematics 41 (2019), p. 125497. doi: 10.1016/j.ppees.2019.125497.
Mokany_200821121K. Mokany and J. Ash. “Are traits measured on pot grown plants representative of those in natural communities?”. Journal of Vegetation Science 19 (2008), pp. 119-126. doi: 10.3170/2007-8-18340.
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.
White_20201836M. White, S. Sinclair, and D. Frood. Victorian Vital Attributes Database. database. Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning, Victoria, 2020.
Vesk_2004628P. A. Vesk, M. R. Leishman, and M. Westoby. “Simple traits do not predict grazing response in Australian dry shrublands and woodlands”. Journal of Applied Ecology 41.1 (2004), pp. 22-31. doi: 10.1111/j.1365-2664.2004.00857.x.
Tsakalos_20201718J. L. Tsakalos, M. Renton, F. Riviera, E. J. Veneklaas, M. P. Dobrowolski, and L. Mucina. “Trait-based formal definition of plant functional types and functional communities in the multi-species and multi-traits context”. Ecological Complexity 40 (2019), p. 100787. doi: 10.1016/j.ecocom.2019.100787.
Dwyer_2017313J. M. Dwyer and D. C. Laughlin. “Constraints on trait combinations explain climatic drivers of biodiversity: The importance of trait covariance in community assembly”. Ecology Letters 20.7 (2017), pp. 872-882. doi: 10.1111/ele.12781.
Meers_20071111T. Meers. “Role of plant functional traits in determining the response of vegetation to land use change on the Delatite Peninsula, Victoria.”. PhD. University of Melbourne, 2007.
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.
Fonseca_200059C. R. Fonseca, J. M. Overton, B. Collins, and M. Westoby. “Shifts in trait-combinations along rainfall and phosphorus gradients”. Journal of Ecology 88 (2000), pp. 964-977. doi: 10.1046/j.1365-2745.2000.00506.x.
NSWFRD_201499B. 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_201199R. 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.
Burrows_2008_248N. D. Burrows, G. Wardell-Johnson, and B. Ward. “Post-fire juvenile period of plants in south-west Australia forests and implications for fire management”. Journal of the Royal Society of Western Australia 91 (2008), pp. 163-174. ISSN: 0035922X. url: http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/19156 (visited on 03/27/2025).
Burrows_202048N. Burrows. Data from 'Plant Ecological Attributes' theme, NatureMap, DBCA, WA. 2020.
GrassBase_201448W. Clayton, M. Vorontsova, and K. H. &. H. Williamson. GrassBase - The online world grass flora. 2006. url: http://www.kew.org/data/grasses-db.html.
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.
RBGV_202367VicFlora. Flora of Victoria, Royal Botanic Gardens Victoria. accessed on 6 May, 2022.. 2023. url: https://vicflora.rbg.vic.gov.au/.
Standish_201977R. Standish. “Unpublished data: Jarrah forest, Murdoch University”. 2019.
Cheal_201756D. 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_202366N. 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/.
Kew_2019_615Royal Botanic Gardens Kew. Germination data from the Seed Information Database (SID) and Seed Bank Database. 2019. url: http://data.kew.org/sid/.
Morgan_2011_155J. Morgan. “Unpublished data: Grassy woodland traits, La Trobe University”. 2011.
SAH_202345S. 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/.
ABRS_202244Australian Biological Resources Study. Flora of Australia, Australian Biological Resources Study, Canberra.. accessed on 14 September, 2022.. 2022. url: http://www.ausflora.org.au.
ABRS_202334Australian Biological Resources Study. Flora of Australia, Australian Biological Resources Study, Canberra.. accessed on 14 September, 2022.. 2023. url: http://www.ausflora.org.au.
Gosper_201844C. R. Gosper, C. J. Yates, G. D. Cook, J. M. Harvey, A. C. Liedloff, W. L. McCaw, K. R. Thiele, and S. M. Prober. “A conceptual model of vegetation dynamics for the unique obligate-seeder eucalypt woodlands of south-western Australia”. Austral Ecology 43.6 (2018), pp. 681-695. doi: 10.1111/aec.12613.
Leishman_199244M. 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.
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/.
SAH_202244S. 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.
RBGV_202233VicFlora. Flora of Victoria, Royal Botanic Gardens Victoria. accessed on 6 May, 2022.. 2022. url: https://vicflora.rbg.vic.gov.au/.
SAH_201423J. 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.
Simpson_202133K. 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.
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/.
Draper_202322J. 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/.
NHNSW_2014_222Royal Botanic Gardens Sydney. PLantNET: NSW flora online. 2014. url: http://plantnet.rbgsyd.nsw.gov.au/.
WAH_2023_212Western 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.
Mokany_201511K. 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.
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_201411Royal Botanic Gardens Sydney. PLantNET. 2014. url: http://plantnet.rbgsyd.nsw.gov.au/search/simple.htm.
OReillyNugent_201811A. O'Reilly-Nugent, E. Wandrag, C. Catford, B. Gruber, D. Driscoll, and R. Duncan. “Measuring competitive impact: Joint-species modelling of invaded plant communities”. Journal of Ecology 108 (2018), pp. 449-459.
Osborne_201411C. Osborne, A. Salomaa, T. Kluyver, V. Visser, E. Kellogg, O. Morrone, M. Vorontsova, W. Clayton, and D. Simpson. “A global database of C4 photosynthesis in grasses”. New Phytologist 204 (2014), pp. 441-446. doi: 10.1111/nph.12942.
Schmidt_199311S. Schmidt. “Unpublished data: Compilation of mycorrhizal status data, University of Queensland”. 1993.
Wenk_202311E. Wenk. “Unpublished data: Australian plant life history dataset, University of New South Wales, Sydney”. 2023.