Spergularia media

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Family Caryophyllaceae

Taxonomy: Spergularia media (L.) C.Presl

Synonyms: 5 (APC 2026-07-30)

Arenaria marginata DC. (taxonomic synonym)
Arenaria maritima All. (taxonomic synonym)
Arenaria media L. (nomenclatural synonym)
Spergularia marginata Kitt. (taxonomic synonym)
Spergularia maritima (All.) Chiov. (taxonomic synonym)

Distribution (APC): SA (naturalised), Qld (naturalised), NSW (naturalised), Vic (naturalised)

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

Traits

Top source datasets: ABRS_2022 (3), ABRS_2023 (17), Draper_2023 (3), NHNSW_2022 (3), NHNSW_2023 (15), RBGV_2022 (3), RBGV_2023 (15), SAH_2014 (1), SAH_2022 (3), SAH_2023 (16), Sjostrom_2006 (4), Wenk_2022 (2), Wenk_2023 (1), White_2020 (19), Williams_2005 (4). See below for a full list of sources.
Summary: AusTraits contains 43 traits from 109 records in 15 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): resprouts (1) [sources: White_2020]

flower morphology

sex_type (categorical): hermaphrodite (1) [sources: Sjostrom_2006]

fruit morphology

fruit_length (numerical): 8 mm (7-9 mm) [sources: ABRS_2023; NHNSW_2023; SAH_2023]
fruit_type (categorical): capsule (5) [sources: ABRS_2023; NHNSW_2023; RBGV_2023; SAH_2023; Sjostrom_2006]
fruit_fleshiness (categorical): dry (1) [sources: Sjostrom_2006]
fruit_dehiscence (categorical): dehiscent (5) [sources: ABRS_2023; NHNSW_2023; RBGV_2023; SAH_2023; Sjostrom_2006]

leaf morphology

leaf_length (numerical): 23.12 mm (10-70 mm) [sources: ABRS_2023; NHNSW_2023; RBGV_2023; SAH_2023]
leaf_width (numerical): 1.48 mm (0.8-2 mm) [sources: ABRS_2023; NHNSW_2023; RBGV_2023; SAH_2023]
leaf_shape (categorical): linear (1) [sources: SAH_2023]
leaf_margin (categorical): entire (4) [sources: ABRS_2023; NHNSW_2023; RBGV_2023; SAH_2023]
leaf_compoundness (categorical): simple (4) [sources: ABRS_2023; NHNSW_2023; RBGV_2023; SAH_2023]
leaf_phyllotaxis (categorical): opposite (2) [sources: ABRS_2023; RBGV_2023]
leaf_arrangement (categorical): fasciculate (1) [sources: RBGV_2023]
plant_photosynthetic_organ (categorical): leaf (4) [sources: ABRS_2023; NHNSW_2023; RBGV_2023; SAH_2023]

life history

photosynthetic_pathway (categorical): c3 (1) [sources: White_2020]
plant_growth_form (categorical): herb (6) [sources: ABRS_2022; NHNSW_2022; RBGV_2022; SAH_2022; Wenk_2022; White_2020]
life_form (categorical): hemicryptophyte (1) [sources: Williams_2005]
life_history (categorical): biennial (2); perennial (6) [sources: ABRS_2022; NHNSW_2022; RBGV_2022; SAH_2022; Wenk_2023; Williams_2005]
woodiness_detailed (categorical): herbaceous (5); woody_root (1) [sources: ABRS_2022; NHNSW_2022; RBGV_2022; SAH_2022; Wenk_2022]
nitrogen_fixing (categorical): non_nitrogen_fixer (1) [sources: White_2020]
parasitic (categorical): not_parasitic (1) [sources: White_2020]
pollination_syndrome (categorical): insect (2) [sources: Draper_2023; White_2020]
dispersal_syndrome (categorical): anemochory (2) [sources: Draper_2023; White_2020]
dispersers (categorical): wind (2) [sources: Draper_2023; White_2020]
flowering_time (categorical): ynnnnnnnyyyy (1) [sources: White_2020]
seedbank_longevity_class (categorical): persistent (1) [sources: White_2020]
vegetative_reproduction_ability (categorical): not_vegetative (2) [sources: White_2020; Williams_2005]

seed morphology

seed_dry_mass (numerical): 0.01 mg (0.01-0.01 mg) [sources: Williams_2005]
seed_length (numerical): 1 mm (0.6-1.5 mm) [sources: ABRS_2023; NHNSW_2023; RBGV_2023; SAH_2023]
seed_width (numerical): 1.5 mm (1.5-1.5 mm) [sources: SAH_2023]
seed_shape (categorical): orbicular (1); ovoid (2); winged (4) [sources: ABRS_2023; NHNSW_2023; RBGV_2023; SAH_2023]

whole plant morphology

plant_height (numerical): 0.4 m (0.4-0.4 m) [sources: SAH_2014]
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.
ABRS_2023	13	17	Australian Biological Resources Study. Flora of Australia, Australian Biological Resources Study, Canberra.. accessed on 14 September, 2022.. 2023. url: http://www.ausflora.org.au.
SAH_2023	15	16	S. 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/.
NHNSW_2023	11	15	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/.
RBGV_2023	12	15	VicFlora. Flora of Victoria, Royal Botanic Gardens Victoria. accessed on 6 May, 2022.. 2023. url: https://vicflora.rbg.vic.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.
Williams_2005	4	4	N. S. G. Williams, J. W. Morgan, M. J. McDonnell, and M. A. McCarthy. “Plant traits and local extinctions in natural grasslands along an urban-rural gradient”. Journal of Ecology 93.6 (2005), pp. 1203-1213. doi: 10.1111/j.1365-2745.2005.01039.x.
ABRS_2022	3	3	Australian Biological Resources Study. Flora of Australia, Australian Biological Resources Study, Canberra.. accessed on 14 September, 2022.. 2022. url: http://www.ausflora.org.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/.
RBGV_2022	3	3	VicFlora. Flora of Victoria, Royal Botanic Gardens Victoria. accessed on 6 May, 2022.. 2022. url: https://vicflora.rbg.vic.gov.au/.
SAH_2022	3	3	S. 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_2022	2	2	E. Wenk. “Unpublished data: Australian plant growth forms dataset”. 2022.
SAH_2014	1	1	J. 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_2023	1	1	E. Wenk. “Unpublished data: Australian plant life history dataset, University of New South Wales, Sydney”. 2023.