AusTraits

Comesperma volubile

Explore the data for this taxon in the portal

Family Polygalaceae

Taxonomy: Comesperma volubile Labill.

Synonyms: 11 (APC 2026-07-30)
  • Bredemeyera volubile Chodat ex Anon. (nomenclatural synonym)
  • Bredemeyera volubilis (Labill.) Chodat ex Anon. (nomenclatural synonym)
  • Comesperma gracile Paxton (taxonomic synonym)
  • Comesperma gracilis Paxton (taxonomic synonym)
  • Comesperma tortuosum Steetz (taxonomic synonym)
  • Comesperma volubile Labill. var. volubile (nomenclatural synonym)
  • Comesperma volubile var. alba F.M.Bailey (taxonomic synonym)
  • Comesperma volubile var. micrantha Steetz (taxonomic synonym)
  • Comesperma volubile var. micranthum Steetz (taxonomic synonym)
  • Comesperma volubilis Labill. (orthographic variant)
  • Comosperma gracilis Anon. (taxonomic synonym)
Misapplied names: 1 (APC 2026-07-30)
  • Comesperma ciliatum Steetz (misapplied)

Distribution (APC): WA, SA, Qld, NSW, ACT, Vic, Tas

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

Traits

Top source datasets: Burrows_2008_2 (3), Burrows_2020 (3), Cheal_2017 (5), Collette_2021 (1), Draper_2023 (3), Hughes_1992 (4), Jordan_2001 (7), Kew_2019_1 (1), Kooyman_2011 (12), Kubiak_2009 (4), Leishman_1993 (1), Leishman_1995 (7), McGlone_2015 (6), Mokany_2015 (1), NHNSW_2014_2 (4), NHNSW_2016 (2), NHNSW_2022 (1), NHNSW_2023 (13), NSWFRD_2014 (9), Pekin_2011 (4), RBGV_2022 (4), RBGV_2023 (16), SAH_2022 (4), SAH_2023 (20), Sjostrom_2006 (4), Sweedman_2006 (2), Tsakalos_2020 (19), WAH_1998 (1), WAH_2022_2 (4), WAH_2023_2 (2), Wenk_2022 (2), Wenk_2023 (1), White_2020 (20), Williams_2011 (10), eFLOWER_Dun_2022 (30). See below for a full list of sources.
Summary: AusTraits contains 90 traits from 230 records in 35 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 (2); partial_resprouting (1); resprouts (5) [sources: Burrows_2008_2; Burrows_2020; Cheal_2017; Kubiak_2009; NSWFRD_2014; Pekin_2011; Tsakalos_2020; White_2020]
  • post_fire_recruitment (categorical): post_fire_recruitment_absent (1) [sources: NSWFRD_2014]
  • fire_time_from_fire_to_flowering (numerical): 20 mo (20-20 mo) [sources: Burrows_2020]
flower morphology
  • flower_colour (categorical): blue_purple (3); pink (2); white_cream (2) [sources: NHNSW_2014_2; eFLOWER_Dun_2022]
  • sex_type (categorical): hermaphrodite (2); monoecious (1) [sources: Jordan_2001; Sjostrom_2006]
fruit morphology
  • fruit_length (numerical): 15.17 mm (10-21 mm) [sources: NHNSW_2023; RBGV_2023; SAH_2023]
  • fruit_width (numerical): 3.5 mm (3-4 mm) [sources: SAH_2023]
  • fruit_type (categorical): capsule (4) [sources: NHNSW_2023; RBGV_2023; SAH_2023; Sjostrom_2006]
  • fruit_fleshiness (categorical): dry (3) [sources: Jordan_2001; Sjostrom_2006; Tsakalos_2020]
  • fruit_dehiscence (categorical): dehiscent (2) [sources: SAH_2023; Sjostrom_2006]
leaf morphology
  • leaf_area (numerical): 302.78 mm2 (82-630 mm2) [sources: Leishman_1995; Mokany_2015; NHNSW_2016]
  • leaf_length (numerical): 36 mm (10-80 mm) [sources: McGlone_2015; Kooyman_2011; NHNSW_2023; RBGV_2023; SAH_2023]
  • leaf_width (numerical): 7.95 mm (1-25 mm) [sources: McGlone_2015; Kooyman_2011; NHNSW_2023; RBGV_2023; SAH_2023]
  • leaf_mass_per_area (numerical): 75.76 g/m2 (75.76-75.76 g/m2) [sources: Leishman_1995]
  • leaf_shape (categorical): elliptical (1); linear (2); narrowly_oblong (1); ovate (2) [sources: NHNSW_2023; RBGV_2023; SAH_2023]
  • leaf_margin (categorical): entire (4) [sources: NHNSW_2023; RBGV_2023; SAH_2023; Tsakalos_2020]
  • leaf_margin_posture (categorical): revolute (2) [sources: NHNSW_2023; SAH_2023]
  • leaf_lobation (categorical): unlobed (1) [sources: Kooyman_2011]
  • leaf_compoundness (categorical): simple (5) [sources: Kooyman_2011; McGlone_2015; NHNSW_2014_2; SAH_2023; Tsakalos_2020]
  • leaf_lamina_posture (categorical): conduplicate (1) [sources: Tsakalos_2020]
  • leaf_glaucousness (categorical): not_glaucous (2) [sources: Tsakalos_2020]
  • leaf_hairs_adult_leaves (categorical): hairy (1) [sources: Tsakalos_2020]
  • leaf_phyllotaxis (categorical): alternate (2) [sources: NHNSW_2023; SAH_2023]
  • plant_photosynthetic_organ (categorical): cladode (1); leaf (4) [sources: NHNSW_2023; RBGV_2023; SAH_2023; Tsakalos_2020]
life history
  • photosynthetic_pathway (categorical): c3 (3) [sources: Tsakalos_2020; White_2020; Williams_2011]
  • plant_growth_form (categorical): climber (7); climber_herbaceous (3); climber_woody (1); herb (2); shrub (1); subshrub (1) [sources: Hughes_1992; Kooyman_2011; Leishman_1995; McGlone_2015; NHNSW_2022; NSWFRD_2014; RBGV_2022; SAH_2022; WAH_2022_2; Wenk_2022; White_2020; Williams_2011]
  • life_form (categorical): phanerophyte (1) [sources: Williams_2011]
  • life_history (categorical): perennial (9); short_lived_perennial (1) [sources: Burrows_2008_2; Burrows_2020; Cheal_2017; Jordan_2001; Pekin_2011; RBGV_2022; SAH_2022; Tsakalos_2020; WAH_2022_2; Wenk_2023]
  • woodiness_detailed (categorical): herbaceous (4); woody (1); woody_base (2) [sources: RBGV_2022; SAH_2022; Tsakalos_2020; WAH_2022_2; Wenk_2022]
  • plant_climbing_mechanism (categorical): twining (1) [sources: Tsakalos_2020]
  • stem_growth_habit (categorical): climbing (3); creeping (2); decumbent (1); sprawling (1) [sources: McGlone_2015; NHNSW_2014_2; RBGV_2022; SAH_2022; Tsakalos_2020; WAH_2022_2]
  • leaf_phenology (categorical): evergreen (1) [sources: Kooyman_2011]
  • nitrogen_fixing (categorical): non_nitrogen_fixer (3) [sources: Pekin_2011; White_2020; Williams_2011]
  • root_structure (categorical): arbuscular_mycorrhizal (3) [sources: Pekin_2011; Tsakalos_2020; Williams_2011]
  • parasitic (categorical): not_parasitic (2) [sources: Tsakalos_2020; White_2020]
  • pollination_syndrome (categorical): insect (2) [sources: Draper_2023; White_2020]
  • pollination_system (categorical): biotic_unspecialised (1) [sources: Williams_2011]
  • dispersal_syndrome (categorical): anemochory (6); barochory (1); myrmecochory (1) [sources: Draper_2023; Hughes_1992; Leishman_1995; NHNSW_2016; NSWFRD_2014; White_2020; Williams_2011]
  • dispersers (categorical): ants (1); passive (1); wind (3) [sources: Draper_2023; Leishman_1995; NSWFRD_2014; White_2020]
  • flowering_time (categorical): nnnnnnnyyyyn (1); nnnnnnyyyyyy (2); nnnnnyyyyyyn (1); nnnnyyyyyynn (1); yynnnnnyyyyy (1) [sources: Hughes_1992; NHNSW_2014_2; NSWFRD_2014; Tsakalos_2020; WAH_1998; White_2020]
  • serotiny (categorical): not_serotinous (1) [sources: Hughes_1992]
  • seedbank_longevity_class (categorical): persistent (1); transient (1) [sources: NSWFRD_2014; White_2020]
  • seed_dormancy_class (categorical): physiological_dormancy (1) [sources: Collette_2021]
  • vegetative_reproduction_ability (categorical): not_vegetative (1) [sources: White_2020]
  • clonal_spread_mechanism (categorical): non_clonal (1) [sources: Williams_2011]
seed morphology
  • seed_dry_mass (numerical): 1.47 mg (1.19-1.61 mg) [sources: Kew_2019_1; Leishman_1993; Leishman_1995]
  • seed_length (numerical): 3.46 mm (2-4.5 mm) [sources: Jordan_2001; Kooyman_2011; RBGV_2023; SAH_2023]
  • seed_width (numerical): 1.22 mm (0.94-2 mm) [sources: Jordan_2001; Kooyman_2011]
  • seed_shape (categorical): ellipsoid (2) [sources: RBGV_2023; SAH_2023]
whole plant morphology

Sources

dataset_idn_traitsn_recordsreference
eFLOWER_Dun_20222230L. Dun and H. Sauquet. “Unpublished: Floral traits for GAP taxa, University of New South Wales, Australia”. 2022.
SAH_20231620S. H. of South Australia. eFlora of SA, Electronic Flora of South Australia. accessed on 6 May, 2022.. 2022. url: http://www.flora.sa.gov.au/.
White_20202020M. White, S. Sinclair, and D. Frood. Victorian Vital Attributes Database. database. Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning, Victoria, 2020.
Tsakalos_20201819J. L. Tsakalos, M. Renton, F. Riviera, E. J. Veneklaas, M. P. Dobrowolski, and L. Mucina. “Trait-based formal definition of plant functional types and functional communities in the multi-species and multi-traits context”. Ecological Complexity 40 (2019), p. 100787. doi: 10.1016/j.ecocom.2019.100787.
RBGV_20231216VicFlora. Flora of Victoria, Royal Botanic Gardens Victoria. accessed on 6 May, 2022.. 2023. url: https://vicflora.rbg.vic.gov.au/.
NHNSW_20231013N. 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/.
Kooyman_2011812R. 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.
Williams_20111010R. P. Duncan, S. E. Clemants, R. T. Corlett, A. K. Hahs, M. A. McCarthy, M. J. McDonnell, M. W. Schwartz, K. Thompson, P. A. Vesk, and N. S. G. Williams. “Plant traits and extinction in urban areas: a meta-analysis of 11 cities”. Global Ecology and Biogeography 20.4 (2011), pp. 509-519. doi: 10.1111/j.1466-8238.2010.00633.x.
NSWFRD_201489B. 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.
Jordan_200177G. J. Jordan. “An investigation of long-distance dispersal based on species native to both Tasmania and New Zealand”. Australian Journal of Botany 49.3 (2001), pp. 333-340. doi: 10.1071/bt00024.
Leishman_199577M. 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.
McGlone_201566M. S. McGlone, S. J. Richardson, G. J. Jordan, and G. L. Perry. “Is there a `suboptimal' woody species height? A response to Scheffer et al.”. Trends in Ecology & Evolution 30.1 (2015), pp. 4-5. doi: 10.1016/j.tree.2014.09.007.
Cheal_201755D. Cheal. Growth stages and tolerable fire intervals for Victoria's native vegetation data sets. Fire and adaptive management, report no. 84. Victorian Government Department of Sustainability and Environment Melbourne, 2010.
Hughes_199244L. Hughes and B. Rice. “Unpublished data: Traits data for 643 species, Macquarie University”. 1992.
Kubiak_200934P. J. Kubiak. “Fire responses of bushland plants after the January 1994 wildfires in northern Sydney”. Cunninghamia 11.1 (2009), pp. 131-165.
NHNSW_2014_244Royal Botanic Gardens Sydney. PLantNET: NSW flora online. 2014. url: http://plantnet.rbgsyd.nsw.gov.au/.
Pekin_201144B. K. Pekin, R. S. Wittkuhn, M. M. Boer, C. Macfarlane, and P. F. Grierson. “Plant functional traits along environmental gradients in seasonally dry and fire-prone ecosystem”. Journal of Vegetation Science 22 (2011), pp. 1009-1020. doi: 10.1111/j.1654-1103.2011.01323.x.
RBGV_202244VicFlora. Flora of Victoria, Royal Botanic Gardens Victoria. accessed on 6 May, 2022.. 2022. url: https://vicflora.rbg.vic.gov.au/.
SAH_202244S. H. of South Australia. eFlora of SA, Electronic Flora of South Australia. accessed on 6 May, 2022.. 2022. url: http://www.flora.sa.gov.au/.
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.
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.
NHNSW_201622National Herbarium of NSW. Trait measurements for NSW rainforest species from PLantNET. 2016. url: http://plantnet.rbgsyd.nsw.gov.au/.
Sweedman_200622L. Sweedman and D. Merritt. Australian Seeds: A Guide to Their Collection, Identification, and Biology. CSIRO Publishing, 2006. ISBN: 9780643094079.
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.
Kew_2019_111Royal Botanic Gardens Kew. Seed Information Database (SID) and Seed Bank Database. 2019. url: http://data.kew.org/sid/.
Leishman_199311M. Leishman. “Unpublished data: Seed mass data for Sydney species, Macquarie University”. 1990.
Mokany_201511K. Mokany, J. J. Thomson, A. J. J. Lynch, G. J. Jordan, and S. Ferrier. “Linking changes in community composition and function under climate change”. Ecological Applications 25.8 (2015), pp. 2132-2141. doi: 10.1890/14-2384.1.
NHNSW_202211N. 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/.
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.