AusTraits

Banksia sessilis

Explore the data for this taxon in the portal

Family Proteaceae

Taxonomy: Banksia sessilis (Knight) A.R.Mast & K.R.Thiele

Synonyms: 2 (APC 2026-07-30)
  • Dryandra sessilis (Knight) Domin (nomenclatural synonym)
  • Josephia sessilis Knight (nomenclatural synonym)

Distribution (APC): WA

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

Traits

Top source datasets: ABRS_1981 (2), ABRS_2022 (3), ABRS_2023 (14), Barrett_2009 (18), Burrows_2008_2 (5), Burrows_2020 (5), Chen_2017 (4), Choat_2012 (5), Clarke_2015 (3), Collette_2021 (1), Enright_2014 (27), Hanley_2001 (10), He_2011 (3), Jordan_2020 (5), Mitchell_2008 (10), Pate_1990 (4), Shedley_2007 (15), Sjostrom_2006 (4), Standish_2019 (9), Sweedman_2006 (4), Tsakalos_2022 (2), WAH_1998 (1), WAH_2022_2 (3), WAH_2023_2 (2), Wenk_2022 (2), Wenk_2023 (1), Wheeler_2002 (10), vanderMoezel_1987 (5). See below for a full list of sources.
Summary: AusTraits contains 61 traits from 177 records in 28 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 (26) [sources: Barrett_2009; Burrows_2008_2; Burrows_2020; Clarke_2015; Enright_2014; He_2011; Pate_1990; Shedley_2007; Standish_2019; vanderMoezel_1987]
  • post_fire_recruitment (categorical): post_fire_recruitment (22) [sources: Barrett_2009; Clarke_2015; Enright_2014; Pate_1990; Shedley_2007; vanderMoezel_1987]
  • fire_time_from_fire_to_flowering (numerical): 48 mo (48-48 mo) [sources: Burrows_2020]
flower morphology
  • sex_type (categorical): hermaphrodite (1) [sources: Sjostrom_2006]
fruit morphology
  • fruit_length (numerical): 12.5 mm (10-15 mm) [sources: ABRS_2023]
  • fruit_type (categorical): follicle (3) [sources: ABRS_2023; Chen_2017; Sjostrom_2006]
  • fruit_fleshiness (categorical): dry (2) [sources: Chen_2017; Sjostrom_2006]
  • fruit_dehiscence (categorical): dehiscent (3) [sources: ABRS_2023; Chen_2017; Sjostrom_2006]
leaf morphology
  • leaf_length (numerical): 42.5 mm (20-60 mm) [sources: ABRS_2023; Wheeler_2002]
  • leaf_width (numerical): 27 mm (8-40 mm) [sources: ABRS_2023; Wheeler_2002]
  • petiole_length (numerical): 0.5 cm (0.5-0.5 cm) [sources: ABRS_2023]
  • leaf_mass_per_area (numerical): 155.33 g/m2 (64.1-312.61 g/m2) [sources: Hanley_2001; Mitchell_2008]
  • leaf_shape (categorical): elliptical (1); oblong (1); obtriangular (1) [sources: ABRS_2023; Wheeler_2002]
  • leaf_margin (categorical): toothed_serrate (1) [sources: ABRS_2023]
  • leaf_margin_posture (categorical): flat (1) [sources: ABRS_2023]
  • leaf_lobation (categorical): unlobed (1) [sources: Wheeler_2002]
  • leaf_compoundness (categorical): simple (2) [sources: ABRS_1981; Wheeler_2002]
  • plant_photosynthetic_organ (categorical): leaf (1) [sources: ABRS_2023]
life history
  • plant_growth_form (categorical): shrub (10); tree (4) [sources: ABRS_2022; Barrett_2009; Shedley_2007; Standish_2019; WAH_2022_2; Wenk_2022; Wheeler_2002]
  • life_history (categorical): perennial (8) [sources: ABRS_2022; Burrows_2008_2; Burrows_2020; Jordan_2020; Standish_2019; WAH_2022_2; Wenk_2023; Wheeler_2002]
  • woodiness_detailed (categorical): woody (3) [sources: ABRS_2022; WAH_2022_2; Wenk_2022]
  • leaf_phenology (categorical): evergreen (1) [sources: ABRS_1981]
  • nitrogen_fixing (categorical): non_nitrogen_fixer (1) [sources: Standish_2019]
  • root_structure (categorical): proteoid_root (1) [sources: Standish_2019]
  • reproductive_maturity (numerical): 4 a (4-4 a) [sources: Burrows_2020]
  • flowering_time (categorical): nnnnnnnnnynn (1); nnnyyyyyyyyn (1) [sources: WAH_1998; vanderMoezel_1987]
  • seedbank_location (categorical): canopy_seedbank (10) [sources: Barrett_2009; Burrows_2008_2; Burrows_2020; Enright_2014; Shedley_2007; Standish_2019]
  • serotiny (categorical): not_serotinous (1); serotiny_low (2) [sources: Hanley_2001; He_2011]
  • seed_dormancy_class (categorical): non_dormant (1) [sources: Collette_2021]
  • vegetative_reproduction_ability (categorical): not_vegetative (1) [sources: Tsakalos_2022]
  • clonal_spread_mechanism (categorical): non_clonal (1) [sources: Tsakalos_2022]
  • bud_bank_location (categorical): none (3) [sources: Burrows_2008_2; Clarke_2015; He_2011]
nutrient and stable isotope
  • leaf_N_per_dry_mass (numerical): 8.27 mg/g (5.24-9.88 mg/g) [sources: Hanley_2001; Standish_2019]
  • leaf_P_per_dry_mass (numerical): 0.4 mg/g (0.4-0.4 mg/g) [sources: Standish_2019]
  • leaf_delta13C (numerical): -23.71 {delta}[ppth] (-23.71--23.71 {delta}[ppth]) [sources: Mitchell_2008]
seed morphology
  • seed_dry_mass (numerical): 13.7 mg (13.7-13.7 mg) [sources: Standish_2019]
stem morphology
  • wood_density (numerical): 0.77 mg/mm3 (0.77-0.77 mg/mm3) [sources: Mitchell_2008]
  • huber_value (numerical): 0 mm2{sapwood}/mm2{leaf} (0-0 mm2{sapwood}/mm2{leaf}) [sources: Mitchell_2008]
whole plant morphology
  • plant_height (numerical): 4.58 m (0.5-6 m) [sources: ABRS_2023; WAH_2023_2; Wheeler_2002]

Sources

dataset_idn_traitsn_recordsreference
Enright_2014327N. J. Enright, J. B. Fontaine, B. B. Lamont, B. P. Miller, and V. C. Westcott. “Resistance and resilience to changing climate and fire regime depend on plant functional traits”. Journal of Ecology 102 (2014), pp. 1572-1581. doi: 10.1111/1365-2745.12306.
Barrett_2009618S. Barrett, S. Comer, N. McQuoid, M. Porter, C. Tiller, and D. Utber. Identification and Conservation of Fire Sensitive Ecosystems and Species of the South Coast Natural Resource Management Region.. government. Department of Conservation and Land Management, South Coast Region, Western Australia, 2009.
Shedley_2007515E. F. Shedley. Fire and Biodiversity Guidelines for the Avon Basin: Consultant Report to the Avon Catchment Council and the Department of Environment and Conservation, August 2007. Tech. rep. Department of Environment and Conservation, Western Australia, 2007.
ABRS_20231114Australian Biological Resources Study. Flora of Australia, Australian Biological Resources Study, Canberra.. accessed on 14 September, 2022.. 2023. url: http://www.ausflora.org.au.
Hanley_2001510M. E. Hanley and B. B. Lamont. “Herbivory, serotiny and seedling defence in Western Australian Proteaceae”. Oecologia 126.3 (2001), pp. 409-417. ISSN: 1432-1939. doi: 10.1007/s004420000538.
Mitchell_20081010P. J. Mitchell, E. J. Veneklaas, H. Lambers, and S. S. O. Burgess. “Using multiple trait associations to define hydraulic functional types in plant communities of south-western Australia”. Oecologia 158 (2008), pp. 385-397. doi: 10.1007/s00442-008-1152-5.
Wheeler_2002810J. R. Wheeler, N. G. Marchant, and M. Lewington. Flora of the south west: Bunbury, Augusta, Denmark. Australian Biological Resources Study ; University of Western Australia Press, 2002. ISBN: 9780642568168.
Standish_201999R. Standish. “Unpublished data: Jarrah forest, Murdoch University”. 2019.
Burrows_2008_255N. D. Burrows, G. Wardell-Johnson, and B. Ward. “Post-fire juvenile period of plants in south-west Australia forests and implications for fire management”. Journal of the Royal Society of Western Australia 91 (2008), pp. 163-174. ISSN: 0035922X. url: http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/19156 (visited on 03/27/2025).
Burrows_202055N. Burrows. Data from 'Plant Ecological Attributes' theme, NatureMap, DBCA, WA. 2020.
Choat_201255B. Choat, S. Jansen, T. J. Brodribb, H. Cochard, S. Delzon, R. Bhaskar, S. J. Bucci, T. S. Feild, S. M. Gleason, U. G. Hacke, A. L. Jacobsen, F. Lens, H. Maherali, J. Martinez-Vilalta, S. Mayr, M. Mencuccini, P. J. Mitchell, A. Nardini, J. Pittermann, R. B. Pratt, J. S. Sperry, M. Westoby, I. J. Wright, and A. E. Zanne. “Global convergence in the vulnerability of forests to drought”. Nature 491.7426 (2012), pp. 752-755. doi: 10.1038/nature11688.
Jordan_202055G. J. Jordan, R. J. Carpenter, B. R. Holland, N. J. Beeton, M. D. Woodhams, and T. J. Brodribb. “Links between environment and stomatal size through evolutionary time in Proteaceae”. Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences 287.1919 (2020), p. 20192876. doi: 10.1098/rspb.2019.2876.
vanderMoezel_198755P. G. van der Moezel, W. A. Loneragan, and D. T. Bell. “Northern Sandplain Kwongan - regeneration following fire, juvenile period and flowering phenology”. Journal of the Royal Society of Western Australia 69.4 (1987), pp. 123-132.
Chen_201744Chen, S.-C., Cornwell, W., Z. H.-X., Moles, and A. T. “Plants show more flesh in the tropics: Variation in fruit type along latitudinal and climatic gradients.”. Ecography 40 (2017), pp. 531-538. doi: abs/10.1111/ecog.02010.
Pate_199044J. S. Pate, R. H. Froend, B. J. Bowen, A. Hansen, and J. Kuo. “Seedling growth and storage characteristics of seeder and resprouter species of Mediterranean-type ecosystems of SW Australia”. Annals of Botany 65.6 (1990), pp. 585-601. doi: 10.1093/oxfordjournals.aob.a087976.
Sjostrom_200644A. 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.
Sweedman_200624L. Sweedman and D. Merritt. Australian Seeds: A Guide to Their Collection, Identification, and Biology. CSIRO Publishing, 2006. ISBN: 9780643094079.
ABRS_202233Australian Biological Resources Study. Flora of Australia, Australian Biological Resources Study, Canberra.. accessed on 14 September, 2022.. 2022. url: http://www.ausflora.org.au.
Clarke_201533P. 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.
He_201133T. He, B. B. Lamont, and K. S. Downes. “Banksia born to burn”. New Phytologist 191.1 (2011), pp. 184-196. doi: 10.1111/j.1469-8137.2011.03663.x.
WAH_2022_233Western Australian Herbarium. Florabase—the Western Australian Flora.. accessed on 14 September, 2022.. 2022. url: https://florabase.dpaw.wa.gov.au/.
ABRS_198122B. A. Barlow, H. T. Clifford, A. S. George, and A. K. A. McCusker. Flora of Australia. 1981. url: http://www.environment.gov.au/biodiversity/abrs/online-resources/flora/main/.
Tsakalos_202222J. L. Tsakalos, G. Ottaviani, S. Chelli, A. Rea, S. Elder, M. P. Dobrowolski, and L. Mucina. “Plant clonality in a soil-impoverished open ecosystem: insights from southwest Australian shrublands”. Annals of Botany 130.7 (2022), pp. 981-990. doi: 10.1093/aob/mcac131.
WAH_2023_212Western Australian Herbarium. Florabase—the Western Australian Flora.. accessed on 14 September, 2022.. 2023. url: https://florabase.dpaw.wa.gov.au/.
Wenk_202222E. Wenk. “Unpublished data: Australian plant growth forms dataset”. 2022.
Collette_202111J. C. Collette and M. K. J. Ooi. “Distribution of seed dormancy classes across a fire-prone continent: effects of rainfall seasonality and temperature”. Annals of Botany 127.5 (2021), pp. 613-620. doi: 10.1093/aob/mcaa203.
WAH_199811Western Australian Herbarium. FloraBase: The Western Australian flora. 1998. url: http://florabase.dpaw.wa.gov.au.
Wenk_202311E. Wenk. “Unpublished data: Australian plant life history dataset, University of New South Wales, Sydney”. 2023.