Austrodanthonia caespitosa

Austrodanthonia caespitosa, known by various common names including common wallaby-grass, ringed wallaby-grass, and white-top, is a species of grass native to southern parts of Australia.

Austrodanthonia caespitosa
Scientific classification
Kingdom:
Plantae
(unranked):
Angiosperms
(unranked):
Monocots
(unranked):
Commelinids
Order:
Poales
Family:
Poaceae
Genus:
Austrodanthonia
Species:
A. caespitosa
Binomial name
Austrodanthonia caespitosa
(Gaudich.) H.P.Linder
Synonyms[1]
  • Rytidosperma caespitosum (Gaudich.) Connor & Edgar
  • Danthonia caespitosa Gaudich

Description

It is a tufted perennial grass that reaches up to 90 centimetres high. Flowers are purple or green, and occur in a panicle of from 10 to 30 spikelets, each of which contains from four to nine individual flowers.[2][3]

Taxonomy

It was first collected from Shark Bay in Western Australia by Charles Gaudichaud-Beaupré, botanist to the expedition of Louis de Freycinet. It was published by Gaudichaud-Beaupré in 1829 under the name Danthonia caespitosa. During the 1960s and 1970s it was transferred firstly into Notodanthonia and then into Rytidosperma. In 1993 it was transferred into Austrodanthonia by Hans Peter Linder, and there it remains.[4]

Distribution and habitat

It occurs throughout the wetter, cooler parts of southern Australia. It is found in many diverse habitats, and tolerates a range of soils, including sands, loams, granite, and laterite.[2][3] It is considered one of the main native pasture grasses in southern Australia[5]

Ecology

Flowering occurs in spring or summer, usually in response to rain.[3]

References
  1. Rytidosperma caespitosum (NSW PlantNet)
  2. "Austrodanthonia caespitosa (Gaudich.) H.P.Linder". FloraBase. Western Australian Government Department of Parks and Wildlife.
  3. "New South Wales Flora Online: Austrodanthonia caespitosa". Royal Botanic Gardens & Domain Trust, Sydney, Australia.
  4. "Austrodanthonia caespitosa (Gaudich.) H.P.Linder". Australian Plant Name Index (APNI), IBIS database. Centre for Plant Biodiversity Research, Australian Government.
  5. Bell, Una (2008), Common native grasses of south-west WA, [Mundaring, Western Australia] [Una Bell], retrieved 30 October 2016
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