AusTraits

Sporobolus africanus

Explore the data for this taxon in the portal

Family Poaceae

Taxonomy: Sporobolus africanus (Poir.) Robyns & Tournay

Synonyms: 8 (APC 2026-07-30)
  • Agrostis africana Poir. (nomenclatural synonym)
  • Agrostis capensis Willd. (taxonomic synonym)
  • Agrostis spicata Thunb. (taxonomic synonym)
  • Sporobolus capensis (Willd.) Kunth (taxonomic synonym)
  • Sporobolus indicus var. africanus (Poir.) Jovet & Guedes (taxonomic synonym)
  • Sporobolus indicus var. capensis Engl. (taxonomic synonym)
  • Vilfa africana (Poir.) P.Beauv. (nomenclatural synonym)
  • Vilfa capensis P.Beauv. (taxonomic synonym)
Misapplied names: 2 (APC 2026-07-30)
  • Sporobolus elongatus R.Br. (misapplied)
  • Sporobolus indicus (L.) R.Br. (misapplied)

Distribution (APC): WA (naturalised), NT (naturalised), SA (naturalised), Qld (naturalised), NSW (naturalised), LHI (naturalised), NI (naturalised), ACT (naturalised), Vic (naturalised), Tas (naturalised)

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

Traits

Top source datasets: ABRS_2022 (4), ABRS_2023 (14), Kubiak_2009 (1), Metcalfe_2020_2 (22), NHNSW_2022 (3), NHNSW_2023 (7), NSWFRD_2014 (3), RBGV_2022 (4), RBGV_2023 (7), SAH_2022 (2), SAH_2023 (5), Simpson_2021 (3), Sjostrom_2006 (4), WAH_2022_1 (4), WAH_2022_2 (3), WAH_2023_1 (1), WAH_2023_2 (3), Wenk_2022 (2), Wenk_2023 (1), Yang_2023 (1). See below for a full list of sources.
Summary: AusTraits contains 33 traits from 94 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
  • resprouting_capacity (categorical): fire_killed (1); resprouts (2) [sources: NSWFRD_2014; Simpson_2021; Yang_2023]
flower morphology
  • sex_type (categorical): hermaphrodite (2) [sources: Metcalfe_2020_2; Sjostrom_2006]
fruit morphology
  • fruit_length (numerical): 1.2 mm (1.1-1.3 mm) [sources: ABRS_2023; Metcalfe_2020_2]
  • fruit_width (numerical): 0.6 mm (0.6-0.6 mm) [sources: ABRS_2023]
  • fruit_height (numerical): 0.5 mm (0.5-0.5 mm) [sources: ABRS_2023]
  • fruit_type (categorical): caryopsis (8) [sources: ABRS_2023; Metcalfe_2020_2; NHNSW_2023; RBGV_2023; SAH_2023; Sjostrom_2006; WAH_2023_1; 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]
  • fruit_colour (categorical): brown (1) [sources: ABRS_2023]
leaf morphology
  • leaf_area (numerical): 345 mm2 (345-345 mm2) [sources: Metcalfe_2020_2]
  • leaf_length (numerical): 156 mm (40-400 mm) [sources: ABRS_2023; Metcalfe_2020_2; NHNSW_2023; RBGV_2023; SAH_2023]
  • leaf_width (numerical): 3.88 mm (1-6 mm) [sources: ABRS_2023; Metcalfe_2020_2; NHNSW_2023; RBGV_2023]
  • leaf_shape (categorical): linear (1); subulate (1) [sources: ABRS_2023; SAH_2023]
  • leaf_compoundness (categorical): simple (1) [sources: Metcalfe_2020_2]
  • leaf_lamina_posture (categorical): flat (1); involute (1) [sources: ABRS_2023; RBGV_2023]
  • leaf_phyllotaxis (categorical): alternate (3) [sources: ABRS_2023; NHNSW_2023; RBGV_2023]
  • plant_photosynthetic_organ (categorical): leaf (4) [sources: ABRS_2023; NHNSW_2023; RBGV_2023; SAH_2023]
life history
  • photosynthetic_pathway (categorical): c4 (1) [sources: Metcalfe_2020_2]
  • plant_growth_form (categorical): graminoid (6); herb (5); tussock (3) [sources: ABRS_2022; Metcalfe_2020_2; NHNSW_2022; NSWFRD_2014; RBGV_2022; SAH_2022; WAH_2022_1; WAH_2022_2; Wenk_2022]
  • life_form (categorical): hemicryptophyte (1) [sources: Metcalfe_2020_2]
  • life_history (categorical): annual (2); perennial (7) [sources: ABRS_2022; NHNSW_2022; RBGV_2022; Simpson_2021; WAH_2022_1; WAH_2022_2; Wenk_2023]
  • woodiness_detailed (categorical): herbaceous (7) [sources: ABRS_2022; NHNSW_2022; RBGV_2022; SAH_2022; WAH_2022_1; WAH_2022_2; Wenk_2022]
  • stem_growth_habit (categorical): caespitose (2); erect (2) [sources: ABRS_2022; RBGV_2022; WAH_2022_1]
  • root_structure (categorical): non_mycorrhizal (1) [sources: Metcalfe_2020_2]
  • pollination_syndrome (categorical): wind (1) [sources: Metcalfe_2020_2]
  • dispersal_syndrome (categorical): barochory (1) [sources: Metcalfe_2020_2]
  • flowering_time (categorical): yynnnnnnnnny (1) [sources: NSWFRD_2014]
  • vegetative_reproduction_ability (categorical): not_vegetative (1) [sources: Metcalfe_2020_2]
  • bud_bank_location (categorical): root_crown (1) [sources: Simpson_2021]
seed morphology
  • seed_dry_mass (numerical): 0.19 mg (0.19-0.19 mg) [sources: Metcalfe_2020_2]
whole plant morphology
  • plant_height (numerical): 0.78 m (0.1-1.1 m) [sources: Metcalfe_2020_2; NHNSW_2023; RBGV_2023; WAH_2023_2]

Sources

dataset_idn_traitsn_recordsreference
Metcalfe_2020_21922D. Metcalfe. “Unpublished data: Traits of Poaceae spp, CSIRO”. 2020.
ABRS_20231114Australian Biological Resources Study. Flora of Australia, Australian Biological Resources Study, Canberra.. accessed on 14 September, 2022.. 2023. url: http://www.ausflora.org.au.
NHNSW_202367N. 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_202377VicFlora. Flora of Victoria, Royal Botanic Gardens Victoria. accessed on 6 May, 2022.. 2023. url: https://vicflora.rbg.vic.gov.au/.
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.
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_144Western Australian Herbarium. Florabase—the Western Australian Flora.. accessed on 14 September, 2022.. 2022. url: https://florabase.dpaw.wa.gov.au/.
NHNSW_202233N. 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_201433B. 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.
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.
WAH_2022_233Western Australian Herbarium. Florabase—the Western Australian Flora.. accessed on 14 September, 2022.. 2022. url: https://florabase.dpaw.wa.gov.au/.
WAH_2023_223Western Australian Herbarium. Florabase—the Western Australian Flora.. accessed on 14 September, 2022.. 2023. url: https://florabase.dpaw.wa.gov.au/.
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.
Kubiak_200911P. J. Kubiak. “Fire responses of bushland plants after the January 1994 wildfires in northern Sydney”. Cunninghamia 11.1 (2009), pp. 131-165.
WAH_2023_111Western Australian Herbarium. Florabase—the Western Australian Flora.. accessed on 14 September, 2022.. 2023. url: https://florabase.dpaw.wa.gov.au/.
Wenk_202311E. Wenk. “Unpublished data: Australian plant life history dataset, University of New South Wales, Sydney”. 2023.
Yang_202311S. Yang. “Unpublished data: Fire response traits scored from national and state floras and the taxonomic literature, University of New South Wales”. 2023.