A minimal structural model encompassing the flow of carbon through the central metabolism of Sacc?ora erythraea was built and used to assess the apphcation of hierarchical clustering techniques for the grouping and, subsequent interpretation of elementary modes. The results indicate that clustering techniques may prove to be a valuable tool for the functional characterisation and grouping of the potentially large datasets yielded by elementary modes analysis, whether clustered by their reaction usage or net stoichiometry.