Backhousia myrtifolia

Explore the data for this taxon in the portal

Family Myrtaceae

Taxonomy: Backhousia myrtifolia Hook. & Harv.

Synonyms: 4 (APC 2026-07-30)

Acmena kingii G.Don (taxonomic synonym)
Backhousia australis G.Benn. (taxonomic synonym)
Backhousia riparia Hook. (taxonomic synonym)
Eugenia riparia Hook. (taxonomic synonym)

Distribution (APC): Qld, NSW

Profiles: APC, Flora of Australia, ALA, iNaturalist, NSW Flora, ATRP

Traits

Top source datasets: Benwell_2024 (5), Butler_2004 (5), Clarke_2015 (3), Cooper_2013 (10), Hughes_1992 (3), Ilic_2000 (2), Kew_2019_1 (1), Kooyman_2011 (14), Kubiak_2009 (1), Lawson_2015 (2), Leishman_1993 (1), Leishman_1995 (6), McCarthy_2017 (10), NHNSW_2014_2 (4), NHNSW_2022 (3), NHNSW_2023 (13), NSWFRD_2014 (6), Pickup_2005 (4), RadfordSmith_2024 (39), Sjostrom_2006 (4), Wenk_2022 (2), Wenk_2023 (1), White_2020 (18), Wright_2000 (5). See below for a full list of sources.
Summary: AusTraits contains 67 traits from 162 records in 24 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 (4) [sources: Benwell_2024; Clarke_2015; Kubiak_2009; NSWFRD_2014; White_2020]
post_fire_recruitment (categorical): post_fire_recruitment_absent (2) [sources: Benwell_2024; Clarke_2015]

flower morphology

flower_colour (categorical): white_cream (1); yellow_orange (1) [sources: NHNSW_2014_2]
sex_type (categorical): hermaphrodite (1) [sources: Sjostrom_2006]

fruit morphology

fruit_length (numerical): 6 mm (6-6 mm) [sources: Cooper_2013; NHNSW_2023]
fruit_type (categorical): capsule (1); nut (1); samara (1) [sources: Cooper_2013; RadfordSmith_2024; Sjostrom_2006]
fruit_fleshiness (categorical): dry (2) [sources: Cooper_2013; Sjostrom_2006]
fruit_dehiscence (categorical): dehiscent (1); indehiscent (1) [sources: Cooper_2013; Sjostrom_2006]

leaf morphology

leaf_area (numerical): 667.25 mm2 (403-1157 mm2) [sources: Leishman_1995; McCarthy_2017; Pickup_2005; RadfordSmith_2024]
leaf_length (numerical): 55 mm (35-75 mm) [sources: Kooyman_2011; NHNSW_2023]
leaf_width (numerical): 22.5 mm (10-35 mm) [sources: Kooyman_2011; NHNSW_2023]
leaf_dry_mass (numerical): 66.8 mg (49.62-84.92 mg) [sources: RadfordSmith_2024]
petiole_length (numerical): 0.45 cm (0.3-0.6 cm) [sources: NHNSW_2023]
leaf_mass_per_area (numerical): 101.13 g/m2 (76.22-133.72 g/m2) [sources: Leishman_1995; McCarthy_2017; Pickup_2005; RadfordSmith_2024]
leaf_area_ratio (numerical): 6.5 mm2/mg (6.5-6.5 mm2/mg) [sources: Pickup_2005]
leaf_dry_matter_content (numerical): 0.45 g/g (0.39-0.59 g/g) [sources: RadfordSmith_2024]
leaf_shape (categorical): elliptical (1); ovate (1) [sources: NHNSW_2023]
leaf_base_shape (categorical): attenuate (1); rounded (1) [sources: NHNSW_2023]
leaf_margin (categorical): entire (1) [sources: NHNSW_2014_2]
leaf_lobation (categorical): unlobed (1) [sources: Kooyman_2011]
leaf_compoundness (categorical): simple (2) [sources: Kooyman_2011; NHNSW_2023]
leaf_phyllotaxis (categorical): opposite (1) [sources: NHNSW_2023]
plant_photosynthetic_organ (categorical): leaf (1) [sources: NHNSW_2023]

life history

photosynthetic_pathway (categorical): c3 (1) [sources: White_2020]
plant_growth_form (categorical): shrub (4); tree (9) [sources: Butler_2004; Cooper_2013; Hughes_1992; Kooyman_2011; Leishman_1995; NHNSW_2022; NSWFRD_2014; Wenk_2022; White_2020]
life_history (categorical): perennial (2) [sources: NHNSW_2022; Wenk_2023]
woodiness_detailed (categorical): woody (2) [sources: NHNSW_2022; Wenk_2022]
leaf_phenology (categorical): evergreen (2) [sources: Kooyman_2011; RadfordSmith_2024]
nitrogen_fixing (categorical): non_nitrogen_fixer (1) [sources: White_2020]
parasitic (categorical): not_parasitic (1) [sources: White_2020]
pollination_syndrome (categorical): insect (1) [sources: White_2020]
dispersal_syndrome (categorical): anemochory (4) [sources: Butler_2004; Leishman_1995; RadfordSmith_2024; White_2020]
dispersers (categorical): wind (3) [sources: Butler_2004; Leishman_1995; White_2020]
flowering_time (categorical): nnnnnnnnnnyy (1); ynnnnnnnnnny (2); ynnnnnnnnnyy (1) [sources: Cooper_2013; Hughes_1992; NHNSW_2014_2; NSWFRD_2014]
seedbank_location (categorical): none (1) [sources: Benwell_2024]
seedbank_longevity_class (categorical): transient (2) [sources: NSWFRD_2014; White_2020]
vegetative_reproduction_ability (categorical): not_vegetative (2) [sources: NHNSW_2014_2; White_2020]
bud_bank_location (categorical): basal_buds (1); basal_stem_buds (1); bud-bearing_root (1) [sources: Benwell_2024; Clarke_2015; NSWFRD_2014]

seed morphology

seed_dry_mass (numerical): 11.61 mg (8.82-13.01 mg) [sources: Kew_2019_1; Leishman_1993; Leishman_1995]
seed_length (numerical): 1.5 mm (1-2 mm) [sources: Kooyman_2011]
seed_width (numerical): 1 mm (1-1 mm) [sources: Butler_2004; Kooyman_2011]
seed_shape (categorical): ovoid_flattened (1) [sources: NHNSW_2023]

stem morphology

wood_density (numerical): 0.81 mg/mm3 (0.69-0.91 mg/mm3) [sources: Ilic_2000; Kooyman_2011; Lawson_2015; RadfordSmith_2024]
huber_value (numerical): 0 mm2{sapwood}/mm2{leaf} (0-0 mm2{sapwood}/mm2{leaf}) [sources: Pickup_2005]

whole plant morphology

plant_height (numerical): 25 m (10-35 m) [sources: Cooper_2013; Hughes_1992; Kooyman_2011]
plant_physical_defence_structures (categorical): absent (1) [sources: White_2020]

Sources

dataset_id	n_traits	n_records	reference
RadfordSmith_2024	14	39	J. Radford-Smith, H. R. Lai, E. C. Weeren, and J. M. Dwyer. “A Functional Basis for the Assembly of Australian Subtropical Rainforest Tree Communities”. Ecology Letters 27.11 (2024). ISSN: 1461-0248. doi: 10.1111/ele.70014.
White_2020	18	18	M. White, S. Sinclair, and D. Frood. Victorian Vital Attributes Database. database. Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning, Victoria, 2020.
Kooyman_2011	10	14	R. Kooyman, M. Rossetto, W. Cornwell, and M. Westoby. “Phylogenetic tests of community assembly across regional to continental scales in tropical and subtropical rain forests”. Global Ecology and Biogeography 20 (2011), pp. 707-716. doi: 10.1111/j.1466-8238.2010.00641.x.
NHNSW_2023	10	13	N. 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/.
Cooper_2013	9	10	W. Cooper and W. T. Cooper. Australian rainforest fruits. CSIRO Publishing, 2013, p. 272.
McCarthy_2017	2	10	J. K. McCarthy, J. M. Dwyer, and K. Mokany. “A regional-scale assessment of using metabolic scaling theory to predict ecosystem properties”. Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences 286.1915 (2019), p. 20192221. doi: 10.1098/rspb.2019.2221.
Leishman_1995	6	6	M. R. Leishman, M. Westoby, and E. Jurado. “Correlates of seed size variation: A comparison among five temperate floras”. Journal of Ecology 83 (1995), pp. 517-529. doi: 10.2307/2261604.
NSWFRD_2014	6	6	B. 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.
Benwell_2024	5	5	A. Benwell. “Fire responses of flora in a sclerophyll-rainforest vegetation complex in the Nightcap Range, North Coast, New South Wales”. Australian Journal of Botany 72.1 (2024). Ed. by D. Williams. ISSN: 1444-9862. doi: 10.1071/bt23049.
Butler_2004	5	5	D. W. Butler, R. J. Green, D. Lamb, W. J. F. Mcdonald, and P. I. Forster. “Biogeography of seed-dispersal syndromes, life-forms and seed sizes among woody rain-forest plants in Australia's subtropics”. Journal of Biogeography 34.10 (2007), pp. 1736-1750. ISSN: 1365-2699. doi: 10.1111/j.1365-2699.2007.01734.x.
Wright_2000	5	5	I. J. Wright, H. T. Clifford, R. Kidson, M. L. Reed, B. L. Rice, and M. Westoby. “A survey of seed and seedling characters in 1744 Australian dicotyledon species: Cross-species trait correlations and correlated trait-shifts within evolutionary lineages”. Biological Journal of the Linnean Society 69 (2000), pp. 521-547. doi: 10.1111/j.1095-8312.2000.tb01222.x.
NHNSW_2014_2	4	4	Royal Botanic Gardens Sydney. PLantNET: NSW flora online. 2014. url: http://plantnet.rbgsyd.nsw.gov.au/.
Pickup_2005	4	4	M. Pickup, M. Westoby, and A. Basden. “Dry mass costs of deploying leaf area in relation to leaf size”. Functional Ecology 19.1 (2005), pp. 88-97. doi: 10.1111/j.0269-8463.2005.00927.x.
Sjostrom_2006	4	4	A. 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.
Clarke_2015	3	3	P. J. Clarke, M. J. Lawes, B. P. Murphy, J. Russell-Smith, C. E. Nano, R. Bradstock, N. J. Enright, J. B. Fontaine, C. R. Gosper, I. Radford, J. J. Midgley, and R. M. Gunton. “A synthesis of postfire recovery traits of woody plants in Australian ecosystems”. Science of The Total Environment 534 (2015), pp. 31-42. doi: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2015.04.002.
Hughes_1992	3	3	L. Hughes and B. Rice. “Unpublished data: Traits data for 643 species, Macquarie University”. 1992.
NHNSW_2022	3	3	N. 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/.
Ilic_2000	1	2	J. Ilic, D. Boland, M. McDonald, D. G, and P. Blakemore. Woody density phase 1 - State of knowledge. National Carbon Accounting System. Technical Report 18. Tech. rep. Australian Greenhouse Office, Canberra, Australia, 2000.
Lawson_2015	1	2	J. R. Lawson, K. A. Fryirs, and M. R. Leishman. “Data from: Hydrological conditions explain wood density in riparian plants of south-eastern Australia”. Dryad Digital Repository (2015). doi: 10.5061/dryad.72h45.
Wenk_2022	2	2	E. Wenk. “Unpublished data: Australian plant growth forms dataset”. 2022.
Kew_2019_1	1	1	Royal Botanic Gardens Kew. Seed Information Database (SID) and Seed Bank Database. 2019. url: http://data.kew.org/sid/.
Kubiak_2009	1	1	P. J. Kubiak. “Fire responses of bushland plants after the January 1994 wildfires in northern Sydney”. Cunninghamia 11.1 (2009), pp. 131-165.
Leishman_1993	1	1	M. Leishman. “Unpublished data: Seed mass data for Sydney species, Macquarie University”. 1990.
Wenk_2023	1	1	E. Wenk. “Unpublished data: Australian plant life history dataset, University of New South Wales, Sydney”. 2023.