Status and Short Characterisation
Rank: association (accepted).
Authorship: Pignatti 1953.
The Eleusinetum indicae is a thermophytic summer annual trittrasen, flower bed and, more rarely, arable field community.
Syntaxonomy and Chorology
The worldwide distribution of the Chamaesyce-Eleusine stands with the simultaneous presence of a strong geographical differentiation – specifically a mix of regional and supracontinental species – makes the restriction of geographical validity necessary. Otherwise a “monster association” would arise that would not only have at least 50 character species, but would also be extremely heterotonous with respect to these and the species of the higher levels (see Čarni 1997 with restriction to the communities of character species Euphorbia prostrata).
So, for the time being, within the geographical north-south strip Europe-Africa the “northern” Chamaesyce-Eleusine stands are assigned to this community. These are contrasted by the corresponding stands of the driest-hottest zones of Spain, the Canary Islands, and Africa.
A similar “medium-wide” concept has already been used by Fanelli (2002) when dealing with the vegetation of Rome, only that he didn’t “filter of” the summer annual Eleusinetum from the spring communities of the Polycarpion tetraphylli in the analytic table. Most of the other European authors, though, form associations based on only one or two of the character species.
The Eleusinetum in its amplitude used here is certainly still very variable, but it has much in common, at least in the higher level species, and there are many mixed stands.
Selected References
Čarni, Andraž (1997): Chamaesyce prostrata communities in the world – Lagascalia 19 (1-2): 623-630.
Fanelli, Guilano (2002): Analisi fitoscociologica dell’area metropolitana di Roma – Braun-Blanquetia 27: 1-269.
Pignatti, Sandro (1953): Introduzione allo studio fitosociologico della Pianura Veneta Orientale – Arch. Bot. 28: 265–329.