Microlaena stipoides
(Labill.) R.Br. · speciesAt a glance
Sources10 archives
Databases and archives Microlaena stipoides's data was compiled from.
WikipediaWikimedia Foundation3 languages↗
BioWikiNetmultilingual Wikipediamultilingual↗
GBIFGlobal Biodiversity Information Facility26 903 records↗
ENAEuropean Nucleotide Archive · EMBL-EBI16 eDNA detections↗
BOLD SystemsCentre for Biodiversity Genomics34 specimens↗
GRIN TaxonomyUSDA-ARSdistribution & uses↗
CCDBChromosome Counts DB · Tel Aviv U.genome & karyotype↗
GoaTGenomes on a Tree · Sangergenome & karyotype↗
PloiDBPloidy Databasegenome & karyotype
GLoBIGlobal Biotic Interactionsbiotic interactions↗Every layer below draws on the sources above — open one to explore it, or use ← → to move between tabs.
Microlaena is a genus of grass with a single species Microlaena stipoides or Ehrharta stipoides. It occurs naturally in all states of Australia as well as in New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, Indonesia and the Philippines.Microlaena stipoides. Pacific Island Ecosystems at Risk, Hawaiian Ecosystems at Risk. Retrieved 2010-04-03. It has also been introduced into Hawaii and Reunion Island and has been reported as invasive in both.PLANTS profile for Microlaena stipoides (weeping grass). USDA PLANTS. Retrieved 2010-04-03. Common names used include weeping grass, weeping rice grass and weeping meadow grass. P. Martin, writing in 2004, commented:Martin, P. M. The potential of native grasses for the use of managed turf. 4th International Crop Science Congress, 2004. Retrieved 2010-04-03. "Although the generic name Microlaena is strongly defended by Australasian agrostologists (e.g. Wheeler et al. 2002) many European authors treat it as a section of the genus Ehrharta, so that information on the species in question will be found in these sources under the name Ehrharta stipoides (e.g. Clayton and Renvoize, 1986)." He refers to the species as Microlaena stipoides. The Australian Plant Name Index and Australian Plant Census list this scientific name Microlaena stipoides as currently accepted and under it is subsumed the synonym of Ehrharta stipoides .
No narrative description available for this taxon yet.
Size & morphology21
Life cycle & reproduction11
Diet & foraging1
Habitat & environment13
Physiology & chemistry3
A DNA barcode is a short, standardised stretch of genes that works like a fingerprint — enough to tell one species from another. Below is the molecular trace Microlaena stipoides has left across the world's sequence archives.
At a glance
★ the standard DNA barcode for this group — the short region actually read to tell this species apart. The rest are extra genes sequenced along the way.
The complete instruction manual Microlaena stipoides carries — its genome. We read it from three angles — how big it is, how the DNA is packed into chromosomes, and how completely it has been sequenced — and explain how to read each value as you go.
Genome sizehow big the whole instruction manual is
Measured in base pairs (bp) — the individual letters of DNA (human ≈ 3.2 Gb, a bacterium a few million). The chart places this genome on a logarithmic scale — each step to the right is ten times bigger — among reference organisms. Across species a bigger genome loosely tracks with larger cells, slower growth and lower-energy lifestyles (powered flight favours small genomes) — yet it does not imply more genes or a more advanced organism (the long-standing C-value paradox).
Chromosomes & ploidyhow the DNA is packaged
2n is the full chromosome count in a normal body cell; n is a gamete (egg or sperm), which carries half. Ploidy is how many complete chromosome sets each cell holds — 2× (diploid) is typical for animals, while higher levels (polyploidy) are common in plants. Click any value below to see the underlying records and sources.
2n 486×GoaT · Kew Plant DNA C-values Database · CCDB · new-zealand · CCDB · ipcn-api-dl +2
2n 402×CCDB · nw-europe-fl · CCDB · book-fedorov
2n 421×CCDB · new-zealand
tetraploid1×GoaT · Kew Plant DNA C-values Database
polyploid inferred1×PloiDB · genus-scale
How far back this lineage goes — and how we know. Everything here is measured in Ma, short for “mega-annum”: millions of years ago. The chart reads left to right like a calendar of the Earth, from the deep past on the left to today at the right edgetop to bottom like a core drilled through the Earth, from the deep past at the top down to today at the bottom.
At a glance
When this lineage existed
How to read this: the coloured strip along the bottomdown the left is the geological calendar — the standard epochs (Pliocene, Pleistocene…) every museum uses, shown so you can see which chapter of Earth's history this lineage lived in. This lineage is a young one, so the strip is zoomed in to epochs — the finer subdivisions inside a period. The orange marker is the DNA clock: DNA accumulates mutations at a roughly steady rate, so comparing this species' DNA with its relatives estimates when the lineage split off — independently of any fossil.
Record type26 903 records
Origin
Range
Wildobservation + sensor
Human sightings and records, or camera-trap / sensor detections — someone (or a device) saw or captured the species in the wild.
Museum / Voucheredphysical evidence
Backed by a physical specimen — a herbarium sheet, sample or voucher held in a collection. “Vouchered” means supported by material evidence, not just an observation.
Cultivated / Captivenot free-living
A living individual in a botanical garden, zoo or nursery — cultivated or kept, not free-living.
Wildobservation + sensor
Human sightings and records, or camera-trap / sensor detections — someone (or a device) saw or captured the species in the wild.
Holding institutions22 of 36 geolocated
Institutions and collections holding physical, vouchered specimens of this species — click a row to fly to it on the map.
| Institution | Specimens |
|---|---|
| Auckland, NZ | 116 |
| Kensington, AU | 80 |
| Museo Entomologico de Leonlocation not on record | 51 |
| Christchurch, NZ | 44 |
| Mount Annan, AU | 23 |
| NSW Dept of Planning, Industry and Environmentlocation not on record | 21 |
| Brisbane, AU | 20 |
| Armidale, AU | 17 |
| Rotorua, NZ | 15 |
| Canberra, AU | 15 |
| Wellington, NZ | 12 |
| QVMAGlocation not on record | 11 |
| Adelaide, AU | 11 |
| KMCClocation not on record | 7 |
| Saint Louis, US | 6 |
| Hobart, AU | 5 |
| State Herbarium of South Australialocation not on record | 5 |
| Wagga Wagga Agricultural Institutelocation not on record | 4 |
| La Trobe Universitylocation not on record | 4 |
| Parkville, AU | 4 |
| Bloomington, US | 3 |
| BISHlocation not on record | 3 |
| University of Stellenboschlocation not on record | 3 |
| Palmerston, AU | 2 |
| Pretoria, ZA | 2 |
| James Cook Townsvillelocation not on record | 2 |
| Palmerston North, NZ | 2 |
| Batemans Bay, AU | 2 |
| Wollongong, AU | 1 |
| Canadian Department of Agriculturelocation not on record | 1 |
| Chicago, US | 1 |
| Australian Tropical Herbariumlocation not on record | 1 |
| Cambridge University Herbariumlocation not on record | 1 |
| BGPAlocation not on record | 1 |
| Smithfield, AU | 1 |
| Honolulu, US | 1 |
Cultivated / Captivenot free-living
A living individual in a botanical garden, zoo or nursery — cultivated or kept, not free-living.
Where the DNA of Microlaena stipoides was picked up in samples of water, soil or air — nobody saw the organism, only its DNA left behind. A trace is a clue that the species was near, not a confirmed sighting.
Signal
Where its DNA was found
How strong is each trace?
Modelled climatemodelled
How to read this: each dot is one detection of this species' DNA in an environmental sample. The confidence meter weighs how many independent studies and places back up the signal — one detection in one study is a hint; many across several studies is solid. Records dated before 2008 (when eDNA methods began) are treated as likely mislabeled and left off the map.