Schizachyrium fragile

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Family Poaceae

Taxonomy: Schizachyrium fragile (R.Br.) A.Camus

Synonyms: 13 (APC 2026-07-30)

Andropogon brevifolius var. fragilis (R.Br.) Hack. (nomenclatural synonym)
Andropogon fragilis R.Br. (nomenclatural synonym)
Andropogon fragilis R.Br. var. fragilis (nomenclatural synonym)
Andropogon fragilis var. sinensis Rendle (taxonomic synonym)
Andropogon obliquiberbis Hack. (taxonomic synonym)
Eulalia simplex Hosok. (taxonomic synonym)
Pollinia fragilis (R.Br.) Spreng. (nomenclatural synonym)
Schizachyrium brevifolium subvar. fragile (R.Br.) Roberty (nomenclatural synonym)
Schizachyrium fragile (R.Br.) A.Camus var. fragile (nomenclatural synonym)
Schizachyrium fragile var. sinense (Rendle) Jansen (taxonomic synonym)
Schizachyrium obliqueberbe (Hack.) A.Camus (taxonomic synonym)
Schizachyrium sp. (taxonomic synonym)
Sorgum obliquiberbe (Hack.) Kuntze (taxonomic synonym)

Misapplied names: 1 (APC 2026-07-30)

Andropogon exilis Hochst. (pro parte misapplied)

Distribution (APC): WA, NT, Qld, NSW

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

Traits

Top source datasets: Crowley_2007 (2), Draper_2023 (3), GrassBase_2014 (8), Kew_2019_1 (2), Kew_2019_5 (2), Kew_2019_6 (2), Metcalfe_2020_2 (14), Munroe_2019 (1), NHNSW_2014 (1), NHNSW_2014_2 (2), NHNSW_2022 (3), NHNSW_2023 (6), NSWFRD_2014 (3), Nano_2011 (2), Osborne_2014 (1), Schmidt_2003 (15), Simpson_2021 (2), Sjostrom_2006 (4), WAH_2022_2 (4), WAH_2023_2 (3), Wenk_2022 (2), Wenk_2023 (1), White_2020 (19), eFLOWER_Dun_2022 (7). See below for a full list of sources.
Summary: AusTraits contains 49 traits from 109 records in 24 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 (4) [sources: Crowley_2007; NSWFRD_2014; Nano_2011; White_2020]

flower morphology

flower_colour (categorical): blue_purple (1); green (1); white_cream (1) [sources: NHNSW_2014_2; eFLOWER_Dun_2022]
sex_type (categorical): hermaphrodite (1) [sources: Sjostrom_2006]

fruit morphology

fruit_length (numerical): 3.05 mm (2.1-4 mm) [sources: Metcalfe_2020_2]
fruit_type (categorical): caryopsis (4) [sources: Metcalfe_2020_2; NHNSW_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): 72 mm2 (72-72 mm2) [sources: Metcalfe_2020_2]
leaf_length (numerical): 60 mm (20-100 mm) [sources: GrassBase_2014]
leaf_width (numerical): 2 mm (1-3 mm) [sources: GrassBase_2014; NHNSW_2023]
leaf_compoundness (categorical): simple (1) [sources: Metcalfe_2020_2]
leaf_phyllotaxis (categorical): alternate (1) [sources: NHNSW_2023]
plant_photosynthetic_organ (categorical): leaf (1) [sources: NHNSW_2023]

life history

photosynthetic_pathway (categorical): c3 (1); c4 (2) [sources: Munroe_2019; Osborne_2014; White_2020]
plant_growth_form (categorical): graminoid (3); herb (4); tussock (3) [sources: Metcalfe_2020_2; NHNSW_2022; NSWFRD_2014; Schmidt_2003; WAH_2022_2; Wenk_2022; White_2020]
life_form (categorical): therophyte (1) [sources: Metcalfe_2020_2]
life_history (categorical): annual (5) [sources: NHNSW_2022; Schmidt_2003; Simpson_2021; WAH_2022_2; Wenk_2023]
woodiness_detailed (categorical): herbaceous (3) [sources: NHNSW_2022; WAH_2022_2; Wenk_2022]
stem_growth_habit (categorical): compact (1) [sources: WAH_2022_2]
nitrogen_fixing (categorical): non_nitrogen_fixer (2) [sources: Schmidt_2003; White_2020]
root_structure (categorical): arbuscular_mycorrhizal (1); non_mycorrhizal (1) [sources: Metcalfe_2020_2; Schmidt_2003]
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 (1); barochory (2); epizoochory (1); hydrochory (2) [sources: Draper_2023; Kew_2019_5; Metcalfe_2020_2; White_2020]
dispersers (categorical): mammals (1); wind (1) [sources: Draper_2023; White_2020]
flowering_time (categorical): yynnnnnnnnny (3); yyyyyyyyyyyn (1) [sources: NHNSW_2014; NHNSW_2014_2; NSWFRD_2014; White_2020]
seedbank_longevity_class (categorical): persistent (1) [sources: White_2020]
vegetative_reproduction_ability (categorical): not_vegetative (2) [sources: Metcalfe_2020_2; White_2020]
bud_bank_location (categorical): none (2); root_crown (1) [sources: Crowley_2007; Nano_2011; Simpson_2021]

nutrient and stable isotope

leaf_N_per_dry_mass (numerical): 5.67 mg/g (5-6 mg/g) [sources: Schmidt_2003]

seed morphology

seed_dry_mass (numerical): 1.76 mg (1.53-2 mg) [sources: Kew_2019_1]
seed_length (numerical): 3.05 mm (2.1-4 mm) [sources: GrassBase_2014]

whole plant morphology

plant_height (numerical): 0.54 m (0.1-0.8 m) [sources: GrassBase_2014; NHNSW_2023; WAH_2023_2]
plant_physical_defence_structures (categorical): absent (1) [sources: White_2020]

Sources

dataset_id	n_traits	n_records	reference
White_2020	19	19	M. White, S. Sinclair, and D. Frood. Victorian Vital Attributes Database. database. Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning, Victoria, 2020.
Schmidt_2003	7	15	S. Schmidt and G. R. Stewart. “d15N values of tropical savanna and monsoon forest species reflect root specialisations and soil nitrogen status”. Oecologia 134 (2003), pp. 569-577. doi: 10.1007/s00442-002-1150-y.
Metcalfe_2020_2	13	14	D. Metcalfe. “Unpublished data: Traits of Poaceae spp, CSIRO”. 2020.
GrassBase_2014	4	8	W. Clayton, M. Vorontsova, and K. H. &. H. Williamson. GrassBase - The online world grass flora. 2006. url: http://www.kew.org/data/grasses-db.html.
eFLOWER_Dun_2022	5	7	L. Dun and H. Sauquet. “Unpublished: Floral traits for GAP taxa, University of New South Wales, Australia”. 2022.
NHNSW_2023	5	6	N. 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/.
Sjostrom_2006	4	4	A. 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_2	4	4	Western Australian Herbarium. Florabase—the Western Australian Flora.. accessed on 14 September, 2022.. 2022. url: https://florabase.dpaw.wa.gov.au/.
Draper_2023	3	3	J. 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.
NHNSW_2022	3	3	N. 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/.
NSWFRD_2014	3	3	B. 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.
WAH_2023_2	2	3	Western Australian Herbarium. Florabase—the Western Australian Flora.. accessed on 14 September, 2022.. 2023. url: https://florabase.dpaw.wa.gov.au/.
Crowley_2007	2	2	G. Crowley, M. Gardener, and M. Marrinan. Tropical savannas fire response database. 2007. url: [www.landmanager.org.au](www.landmanager.org.au).
Kew_2019_1	1	2	Royal Botanic Gardens Kew. Seed Information Database (SID) and Seed Bank Database. 2019. url: http://data.kew.org/sid/.
Kew_2019_5	1	2	Royal Botanic Gardens Kew. Seed dispersal data from the Seed Information Database (SID) and Seed Bank Database. 2019. url: http://data.kew.org/sid/.
Kew_2019_6	1	2	Royal Botanic Gardens Kew. Germination data from the Seed Information Database (SID) and Seed Bank Database. 2019. url: http://data.kew.org/sid/.
NHNSW_2014_2	2	2	Royal Botanic Gardens Sydney. PLantNET: NSW flora online. 2014. url: http://plantnet.rbgsyd.nsw.gov.au/.
Nano_2011	2	2	C. E. M. Nano and P. J. Clarke. “How do drought and fire influence the patterns of resprouting in Australian deserts?”. Plant Ecology 212 (2011), pp. 2095-2110. doi: 10.1007/s11258-011-9988-x.
Simpson_2021	2	2	K. 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_2022	2	2	E. Wenk. “Unpublished data: Australian plant growth forms dataset”. 2022.
Munroe_2019	1	1	S. 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	1	1	Royal Botanic Gardens Sydney. PLantNET. 2014. url: http://plantnet.rbgsyd.nsw.gov.au/search/simple.htm.
Osborne_2014	1	1	C. 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.
Wenk_2023	1	1	E. Wenk. “Unpublished data: Australian plant life history dataset, University of New South Wales, Sydney”. 2023.