Capparis arborea

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Family Capparaceae

Taxonomy: Capparis arborea (F.Muell.) Maiden

Synonyms: 7 (APC 2026-07-30)

Busbeckea arborea F.Muell. (nomenclatural synonym)
Capparis nobilis var. arborea (F.Muell.) Domin (nomenclatural synonym)
Capparis nobilis var. laurina Domin (taxonomic synonym)
Capparis sp. (=RFK/3883) (taxonomic synonym)
Capparis sp. (Forty Mile Scrub BH 3883RFK) (taxonomic synonym)
Capparis sp. (Forty Mile Scrub) (taxonomic synonym)
Capparis sp. Forty Mile Scrub (B.Hyland 3883RFK) (taxonomic synonym)

Misapplied names: 1 (APC 2026-07-30)

Capparis nobilis (Endl.) F.Muell. ex Benth. (pro parte misapplied)

Distribution (APC): Qld, NSW

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

Traits

Top source datasets: ABRS_2022 (3), ABRS_2023 (21), ATRP_2020 (1), Butler_2004 (5), Clarke_2015 (3), Cooper_2013 (14), Gross_2005 (8), Ilic_2000 (1), Kew_2019_1 (1), Kooyman_2011 (24), McCarthy_2017 (8), NHNSW_2014_2 (5), NHNSW_2022 (3), NHNSW_2023 (11), RadfordSmith_2024 (40), Sams_2017 (5), Sjostrom_2006 (8), Wenk_2022 (2), Wenk_2023 (1), Westoby_2004 (13), Wright_2000 (5). See below for a full list of sources.
Summary: AusTraits contains 53 traits from 182 records in 21 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): resprouts (1) [sources: Clarke_2015]
post_fire_recruitment (categorical): post_fire_recruitment_absent (1) [sources: Clarke_2015]

flower morphology

flower_colour (categorical): white_cream (1) [sources: NHNSW_2014_2]
sex_type (categorical): hermaphrodite (4) [sources: Gross_2005; Sjostrom_2006]

fruit morphology

fruit_length (numerical): 30.75 mm (20-50 mm) [sources: ABRS_2023; Cooper_2013]
fruit_width (numerical): 30.75 mm (20-50 mm) [sources: ABRS_2023; Cooper_2013]
fruit_height (numerical): 26.5 mm (20-33 mm) [sources: ABRS_2023]
fruit_type (categorical): berry (9) [sources: ABRS_2023; Cooper_2013; Gross_2005; NHNSW_2023; RadfordSmith_2024; Sams_2017; Sjostrom_2006]
fruit_fleshiness (categorical): fleshy (6) [sources: Cooper_2013; Gross_2005; Sams_2017; Sjostrom_2006]
fruit_dehiscence (categorical): indehiscent (6) [sources: Cooper_2013; Gross_2005; Sams_2017; Sjostrom_2006]
fruit_colour (categorical): green (1) [sources: NHNSW_2023]

leaf morphology

leaf_area (numerical): 1593.19 mm2 (91.23-3311.67 mm2) [sources: McCarthy_2017; RadfordSmith_2024; Westoby_2004]
leaf_length (numerical): 82.5 mm (30-150 mm) [sources: ABRS_2023; Kooyman_2011; NHNSW_2023]
leaf_width (numerical): 33.75 mm (15-60 mm) [sources: ABRS_2023; Kooyman_2011; NHNSW_2023]
leaf_dry_mass (numerical): 154.69 mg (79.25-208 mg) [sources: RadfordSmith_2024]
petiole_length (numerical): 1.12 cm (0.5-1.9 cm) [sources: ABRS_2023; NHNSW_2023]
leaf_mass_per_area (numerical): 114.01 g/m2 (59.16-164.06 g/m2) [sources: McCarthy_2017; RadfordSmith_2024; Sams_2017; Westoby_2004]
leaf_dry_matter_content (numerical): 0.44 g/g (0.41-0.5 g/g) [sources: RadfordSmith_2024]
leaf_shape (categorical): elliptical (1); oblong (1); ovate (2) [sources: ABRS_2023; NHNSW_2023]
leaf_base_shape (categorical): acute (1) [sources: ABRS_2023]
leaf_margin (categorical): entire (1) [sources: NHNSW_2014_2]
leaf_lobation (categorical): unlobed (2) [sources: Kooyman_2011]
leaf_compoundness (categorical): simple (5) [sources: ABRS_2023; Kooyman_2011; NHNSW_2014_2; Westoby_2004]
leaf_phyllotaxis (categorical): alternate (2) [sources: ABRS_2023; NHNSW_2023]
plant_photosynthetic_organ (categorical): leaf (2) [sources: ABRS_2023; NHNSW_2023]

life history

plant_growth_form (categorical): climber_herbaceous (1); climber_woody (1); shrub (4); tree (8) [sources: ABRS_2022; ATRP_2020; Butler_2004; Cooper_2013; Kooyman_2011; NHNSW_2022; Wenk_2022]
life_history (categorical): perennial (3) [sources: ABRS_2022; NHNSW_2022; Wenk_2023]
woodiness_detailed (categorical): woody (3) [sources: ABRS_2022; NHNSW_2022; Wenk_2022]
stem_growth_habit (categorical): climbing (1) [sources: NHNSW_2014_2]
leaf_phenology (categorical): evergreen (3) [sources: Kooyman_2011; RadfordSmith_2024]
dispersal_syndrome (categorical): endozoochory (2) [sources: Butler_2004; RadfordSmith_2024]
dispersers (categorical): flying_vertebrates (1); vertebrates (1) [sources: Butler_2004; Sams_2017]
flowering_time (categorical): yynnnnnnnnny (1); yynnnnnnnnyy (1) [sources: Cooper_2013; NHNSW_2014_2]
bud_bank_location (categorical): basal_stem_buds (1) [sources: Clarke_2015]

seed morphology

seed_dry_mass (numerical): 86.38 mg (86.38-86.38 mg) [sources: Kew_2019_1]
seed_length (numerical): 8 mm (7-10 mm) [sources: ABRS_2023; Cooper_2013; Kooyman_2011]
seed_width (numerical): 5.25 mm (5-6 mm) [sources: Butler_2004; Kooyman_2011]

stem morphology

wood_density (numerical): 0.69 mg/mm3 (0.6-0.76 mg/mm3) [sources: Ilic_2000; Kooyman_2011; RadfordSmith_2024; Westoby_2004]

whole plant morphology

plant_height (numerical): 9.75 m (8-10 m) [sources: ABRS_2023; Cooper_2013; Kooyman_2011]

Sources

dataset_id	n_traits	n_records	reference
RadfordSmith_2024	15	40	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.
Kooyman_2011	11	24	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.
ABRS_2023	14	21	Australian Biological Resources Study. Flora of Australia, Australian Biological Resources Study, Canberra.. accessed on 14 September, 2022.. 2023. url: http://www.ausflora.org.au.
Cooper_2013	11	14	W. Cooper and W. T. Cooper. Australian rainforest fruits. CSIRO Publishing, 2013, p. 272.
Westoby_2004	4	13	M. Westoby. “Unpublished data: Trait data for plant species at Mt Wellington and Sea Acres, Macquarie University”. 2004.
NHNSW_2023	8	11	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/.
Gross_2005	4	8	C. L. Gross. “A comparison of the sexual systems in the trees from the Australian tropics with other tropical biomes-more monoecy but why?”. American Journal of Botany 92.6 (2005), pp. 907-919. doi: 10.3732/ajb.92.6.907.
McCarthy_2017	2	8	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.
Sjostrom_2006	4	8	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.
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.
NHNSW_2014_2	5	5	Royal Botanic Gardens Sydney. PLantNET: NSW flora online. 2014. url: http://plantnet.rbgsyd.nsw.gov.au/.
Sams_2017	5	5	M. A. Sams, H. R. Lai, S. P. Bonser, P. A. Vesk, R. M. Kooyman, D. J. Metcalfe, J. W. Morgan, and M. M. Mayfield. “Landscape context explains changes in the functional diversity of regenerating forests better than climate or species richness”. Global Ecology and Biogeography 26.10 (2017), pp. 1165-1176. doi: 10.1111/geb.12627.
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.
ABRS_2022	3	3	Australian Biological Resources Study. Flora of Australia, Australian Biological Resources Study, Canberra.. accessed on 14 September, 2022.. 2022. url: http://www.ausflora.org.au.
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.
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/.
Wenk_2022	2	2	E. Wenk. “Unpublished data: Australian plant growth forms dataset”. 2022.
ATRP_2020	1	1	F. A. Zich, B. P. Hyland, T. Whiffin, and R. A. Kerrigan. Australian Tropical Rainforest Plants, Edition 8. 2020. url: https://apps.lucidcentral.org/rainforest/text/intro/index.html.
Ilic_2000	1	1	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.
Kew_2019_1	1	1	Royal Botanic Gardens Kew. Seed Information Database (SID) and Seed Bank Database. 2019. url: http://data.kew.org/sid/.
Wenk_2023	1	1	E. Wenk. “Unpublished data: Australian plant life history dataset, University of New South Wales, Sydney”. 2023.