AusTraits

Centella asiatica

Explore the data for this taxon in the portal

Family Apiaceae

Taxonomy: Centella asiatica (L.) Urb.

Synonyms: 2 (APC 2026-07-30)
  • Hydrocotyle asiatica L. (nomenclatural synonym)
  • Hydrocotyle repanda Pers. (taxonomic synonym)
Misapplied names: 1 (APC 2026-07-30)
  • Centella cordifolia (Hook.f.) Nannf. (misapplied)

Distribution (APC): WA, NT, SA, Qld, NSW, LHI (naturalised), NI (naturalised)

Profiles: APC, Flora of Australia, ALA, iNaturalist, NSW Flora, NT eFlora, SA eFlora, Florabase, ATRP

Traits

Top source datasets: Burrows_2008_2 (3), Burrows_2020 (3), Cooper_2013 (9), Draper_2023 (3), Hughes_1992 (3), Kew_2019_1 (2), Kubiak_2009 (2), Metcalfe_2009 (15), NHNSW_2014_2 (5), NHNSW_2024 (12), NSWFRD_2014 (6), NTH_2022 (4), NTH_2023 (14), Pickup_2021 (30), Sjostrom_2006 (3), WAH_1998 (1), WAH_2022_2 (4), WAH_2023_2 (2), Wenk_2022 (2), Wenk_2023 (1), Wheeler_2002 (10), White_2020 (20), Wright_2000 (6), eFLOWER_Dun_2022 (13). See below for a full list of sources.
Summary: AusTraits contains 69 traits from 173 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 (8); resprouts (4) [sources: Burrows_2008_2; Burrows_2020; Kubiak_2009; Metcalfe_2009; NSWFRD_2014; Pickup_2021; White_2020]
  • post_fire_recruitment (categorical): post_fire_recruitment (6) [sources: Pickup_2021]
flower morphology
  • flower_colour (categorical): blue_purple (1); pink (1); white_cream (1) [sources: NHNSW_2014_2]
  • sex_type (categorical): andromonoecious (1) [sources: Sjostrom_2006]
fruit morphology
  • fruit_length (numerical): 2.62 mm (2-3 mm) [sources: Cooper_2013; NTH_2023]
  • fruit_width (numerical): 2.25 mm (1.5-3 mm) [sources: Cooper_2013; NTH_2023]
  • fruit_type (categorical): mericarp (3); schizocarp (1) [sources: Cooper_2013; NHNSW_2024; NTH_2023; Sjostrom_2006]
  • fruit_fleshiness (categorical): dry (1) [sources: Metcalfe_2009]
  • fruit_dehiscence (categorical): indehiscent (1) [sources: Sjostrom_2006]
  • fruit_colour (categorical): red (1) [sources: NTH_2023]
leaf morphology
  • leaf_area (numerical): 1200 mm2 (1200-1200 mm2) [sources: Metcalfe_2009]
  • leaf_length (numerical): 33.5 mm (9-75 mm) [sources: NHNSW_2024; Wheeler_2002]
  • leaf_width (numerical): 36.67 mm (10-95 mm) [sources: NHNSW_2024; NTH_2023; Wheeler_2002]
  • petiole_length (numerical): 7 cm (1-20 cm) [sources: NHNSW_2024; NTH_2023]
  • leaf_type (categorical): broadleaf (1) [sources: NHNSW_2024]
  • leaf_shape (categorical): cordate (1); orbicular (1); reniform (2) [sources: NHNSW_2024; NTH_2023; Wheeler_2002]
  • leaf_base_shape (categorical): sheathing (1) [sources: NTH_2023]
  • leaf_margin (categorical): entire (1); toothed_crenate (2) [sources: NHNSW_2024; NTH_2023]
  • leaf_lobation (categorical): lobed_shallow (1); unlobed (1) [sources: NHNSW_2024; Wheeler_2002]
  • leaf_compoundness (categorical): simple (2) [sources: NHNSW_2014_2; Wheeler_2002]
  • plant_photosynthetic_organ (categorical): leaf (2) [sources: NHNSW_2024; NTH_2023]
life history
  • photosynthetic_pathway (categorical): c3 (2) [sources: Metcalfe_2009; White_2020]
  • plant_growth_form (categorical): herb (15) [sources: Cooper_2013; Hughes_1992; Metcalfe_2009; NSWFRD_2014; NTH_2022; Pickup_2021; WAH_2022_2; Wenk_2022; Wheeler_2002; White_2020]
  • life_form (categorical): chamaephyte (1) [sources: Metcalfe_2009]
  • life_history (categorical): perennial (7) [sources: Burrows_2008_2; Burrows_2020; Metcalfe_2009; NTH_2022; WAH_2022_2; Wenk_2023; Wheeler_2002]
  • woodiness_detailed (categorical): herbaceous (3) [sources: NTH_2022; WAH_2022_2; Wenk_2022]
  • stem_growth_habit (categorical): creeping (2); prostrate (1); rosette (1); stoloniferous (1) [sources: Cooper_2013; NTH_2022; NTH_2023; WAH_2022_2]
  • nitrogen_fixing (categorical): non_nitrogen_fixer (2) [sources: Metcalfe_2009; White_2020]
  • root_structure (categorical): mycorrhizal (1) [sources: Metcalfe_2009]
  • parasitic (categorical): not_parasitic (1) [sources: White_2020]
  • pollination_syndrome (categorical): fly (1); insect (2) [sources: Draper_2023; Metcalfe_2009; White_2020]
  • dispersal_syndrome (categorical): barochory (1); epizoochory (1); zoochory (1) [sources: Draper_2023; Metcalfe_2009; White_2020]
  • dispersers (categorical): abiotic (1); animals (1); birds (1) [sources: Draper_2023; White_2020]
  • flowering_time (categorical): nnnnnnnnnnyy (1); ynnnnnnnnnny (1); yyynnnnyyyyy (1); yyyynnnyyyyy (1); yyyyynnnnnny (2) [sources: Cooper_2013; Hughes_1992; NHNSW_2014_2; NSWFRD_2014; WAH_1998; White_2020]
  • seedbank_location (categorical): soil_seedbank (7) [sources: NSWFRD_2014; Pickup_2021]
  • seedbank_longevity_class (categorical): persistent (7); transient (1) [sources: NSWFRD_2014; Pickup_2021; White_2020]
  • vegetative_reproduction_ability (categorical): vegetative (2) [sources: NHNSW_2014_2; White_2020]
  • clonal_spread_mechanism (categorical): aboveground_clonal (1) [sources: Metcalfe_2009]
  • bud_bank_location (categorical): bud-bearing_root (2) [sources: Burrows_2008_2; Burrows_2020]
seed morphology
  • seed_dry_mass (numerical): 1 mg (0.8-1.5 mg) [sources: Kew_2019_1; Metcalfe_2009]
whole plant morphology

Sources

dataset_idn_traitsn_recordsreference
Pickup_2021530M. Pickup and T. McDonald. Bushfire impacts — A national model for assessing local landscape restoration priorities. Project Phoenix Report. Greening Australia, 2021. url: https://www.greeningaustralia.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/1.02R2.pdf.
White_20202020M. White, S. Sinclair, and D. Frood. Victorian Vital Attributes Database. database. Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning, Victoria, 2020.
Metcalfe_20091515E. Laliberte, J. A. Wells, F. DeClerck, D. J. Metcalfe, C. P. Catterall, C. Queiroz, I. Aubin, S. P. Bonser, Y. Ding, J. M. Fraterrigo, S. McNamara, J. W. Morgan, D. S. Merlos, P. A. Vesk, and M. M. Mayfield. “Land-use intensification reduces functional redundancy and response diversity in plant communities”. Ecology Letters 13.1 (2010), pp. 76-86. doi: 10.1111/j.1461-0248.2009.01403.x.
NTH_20231114D. of Land Resource Management and N. T. of Australia. Northern Territory Flora Online. accessed on 6 May, 2022.. 2022. url: http://eflora.nt.gov.au/.
eFLOWER_Dun_20221113L. Dun and H. Sauquet. “Unpublished: Floral traits for GAP taxa, University of New South Wales, Australia”. 2022.
NHNSW_2024912N. H. of New South Wales. The Plant Information Network System of The Royal Botanic Gardens and Domain Trust Version 2.0.. accessed on December, 2023.. 2024. url: https://plantnet.rbgsyd.nsw.gov.au/.
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.
Cooper_201379W. Cooper and W. T. Cooper. Australian rainforest fruits. CSIRO Publishing, 2013, p. 272.
NSWFRD_201466B. 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.
Wright_200066I. 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_255Royal Botanic Gardens Sydney. PLantNET: NSW flora online. 2014. url: http://plantnet.rbgsyd.nsw.gov.au/.
NTH_202244D. of Land Resource Management and N. T. of Australia. Northern Territory Flora Online. accessed on 6 May, 2022.. 2022. url: http://eflora.nt.gov.au/.
WAH_2022_244Western Australian Herbarium. Florabase—the Western Australian Flora.. accessed on 14 September, 2022.. 2022. url: https://florabase.dpaw.wa.gov.au/.
Burrows_2008_233N. 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_202033N. Burrows. Data from 'Plant Ecological Attributes' theme, NatureMap, DBCA, WA. 2020.
Draper_202333J. T. Draper, S. Delean, J. G. Conran, P. Weinstein, and B. S. Simpson. “Life-history characteristics and climate correlates of dioecious plant species in central southern Australia”. Australian Journal of Botany unknown.unknown (2023), p. unknown. doi: 10.1071/BT22110.
Hughes_199233L. Hughes and B. Rice. “Unpublished data: Traits data for 643 species, Macquarie University”. 1992.
Sjostrom_200633A. 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.
Kew_2019_112Royal Botanic Gardens Kew. Seed Information Database (SID) and Seed Bank Database. 2019. url: http://data.kew.org/sid/.
Kubiak_200922P. J. Kubiak. “Fire responses of bushland plants after the January 1994 wildfires in northern Sydney”. Cunninghamia 11.1 (2009), pp. 131-165.
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.
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.