AusTraits

Commersonia bartramia

Explore the data for this taxon in the portal

Family Malvaceae

Taxonomy: Commersonia bartramia (L.) Merr.

Synonyms: 12 (APC 2026-07-30)
  • Byttneria caledonica Turcz. (taxonomic synonym)
  • Commerconia echinata F.Muell. (nomenclatural synonym)
  • Commersonia echinata J.R.Forst. & G.Forst. (taxonomic synonym)
  • Commersonia echinata J.R.Forst. & G.Forst. var. echinata (taxonomic synonym)
  • Commersonia echinata var. bancroftii F.M.Bailey (taxonomic synonym)
  • Commersonia echinata var. javana Miq. ex Gagnep. (taxonomic synonym)
  • Commersonia echinata var. platyphylla (Andrews) Gagnep. (taxonomic synonym)
  • Commersonia javensis G.Don (taxonomic synonym)
  • Commersonia platyphylla Andrews (taxonomic synonym)
  • Muntingia bartramia L. (nomenclatural synonym)
  • Restiaria alba Rumph. (nomenclatural synonym)
  • Restiaria echinata (J.R.Forst. & G.Forst.) Kuntze (nomenclatural synonym)

Distribution (APC): NT, Qld, NSW

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

Traits

Top source datasets: ANBG_2019 (1), Baker_2019 (2), Benwell_2024 (4), Butler_2004 (5), Clarke_2015 (3), Cooper_2013 (14), Gross_2005 (4), Grubb_1996 (3), Ilic_2000 (2), Kew_2019_1 (4), Kooyman_2011 (13), Metcalfe_2009 (19), NHNSW_2014_2 (1), NHNSW_2022 (3), NHNSW_2023 (17), NSWFRD_2014 (6), NTH_2022 (3), NTH_2023 (16), RadfordSmith_2024 (44), Sjostrom_2006 (4), Wenk_2022 (2), Wenk_2023 (1), Williams_2012 (4), Wright_2000 (2). See below for a full list of sources.
Summary: AusTraits contains 60 traits from 177 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 (3); resprouts (3) [sources: Baker_2019; Benwell_2024; Clarke_2015; Metcalfe_2009; NSWFRD_2014; Williams_2012]
  • post_fire_recruitment (categorical): post_fire_recruitment (4) [sources: Benwell_2024; Clarke_2015; NSWFRD_2014; Williams_2012]
flower morphology
  • flower_colour (categorical): white_cream (1) [sources: NHNSW_2014_2]
  • sex_type (categorical): hermaphrodite (2) [sources: Gross_2005; Sjostrom_2006]
fruit morphology
  • fruit_length (numerical): 17.5 mm (10-25 mm) [sources: Cooper_2013]
  • fruit_width (numerical): 16.25 mm (10-25 mm) [sources: Cooper_2013; NHNSW_2023]
  • fruit_height (numerical): 15 mm (10-20 mm) [sources: NHNSW_2023]
  • fruit_type (categorical): capsule (6) [sources: Cooper_2013; Gross_2005; NHNSW_2023; NTH_2023; RadfordSmith_2024; Sjostrom_2006]
  • fruit_fleshiness (categorical): dry (4) [sources: Cooper_2013; Gross_2005; Metcalfe_2009; Sjostrom_2006]
  • fruit_dehiscence (categorical): dehiscent (6) [sources: Cooper_2013; Gross_2005; Metcalfe_2009; NHNSW_2023; NTH_2023; Sjostrom_2006]
leaf morphology
  • leaf_area (numerical): 8659.04 mm2 (2032.18-12540 mm2) [sources: Metcalfe_2009; RadfordSmith_2024]
  • leaf_length (numerical): 120.83 mm (60-190 mm) [sources: Kooyman_2011; NHNSW_2023; NTH_2023]
  • leaf_width (numerical): 69 mm (30-110 mm) [sources: Kooyman_2011; NHNSW_2023; NTH_2023]
  • leaf_dry_mass (numerical): 304.76 mg (140.82-425.9 mg) [sources: RadfordSmith_2024]
  • petiole_length (numerical): 1.3 cm (1-2 cm) [sources: NHNSW_2023; NTH_2023]
  • leaf_mass_per_area (numerical): 67.58 g/m2 (46.71-85.9 g/m2) [sources: RadfordSmith_2024]
  • leaf_dry_matter_content (numerical): 0.35 g/g (0.33-0.38 g/g) [sources: RadfordSmith_2024]
  • leaf_shape (categorical): ovate (2); spathulate (1); widely_ovate (1) [sources: NHNSW_2023; NTH_2023]
  • leaf_base_shape (categorical): cordate (1); oblique (1) [sources: NTH_2023]
  • leaf_margin (categorical): entire (1); toothed (1); toothed_dentate (1) [sources: NHNSW_2023; NTH_2023]
  • leaf_lobation (categorical): unlobed (1) [sources: Kooyman_2011]
  • leaf_compoundness (categorical): simple (3) [sources: Kooyman_2011; NHNSW_2023; NTH_2023]
  • leaf_phyllotaxis (categorical): alternate (1) [sources: NHNSW_2023]
  • plant_photosynthetic_organ (categorical): leaf (2) [sources: NHNSW_2023; NTH_2023]
life history
  • photosynthetic_pathway (categorical): c3 (1) [sources: Metcalfe_2009]
  • plant_growth_form (categorical): shrub (4); tree (9) [sources: Butler_2004; Cooper_2013; Grubb_1996; Kooyman_2011; Metcalfe_2009; NHNSW_2022; NSWFRD_2014; NTH_2022; Wenk_2022]
  • life_form (categorical): phanerophyte (1) [sources: Metcalfe_2009]
  • life_history (categorical): perennial (4) [sources: Metcalfe_2009; NHNSW_2022; NTH_2022; Wenk_2023]
  • woodiness_detailed (categorical): woody (3) [sources: NHNSW_2022; NTH_2022; Wenk_2022]
  • leaf_phenology (categorical): evergreen (2) [sources: Kooyman_2011; RadfordSmith_2024]
  • nitrogen_fixing (categorical): non_nitrogen_fixer (1) [sources: Metcalfe_2009]
  • root_structure (categorical): mycorrhizal (1) [sources: Metcalfe_2009]
  • pollination_syndrome (categorical): bee (1) [sources: Metcalfe_2009]
  • reproductive_maturity (numerical): 9 a (9-9 a) [sources: Williams_2012]
  • dispersal_syndrome (categorical): endozoochory (2); epizoochory (1); myrmecochory (1); zoochory (1) [sources: Butler_2004; Grubb_1996; Metcalfe_2009; NSWFRD_2014; RadfordSmith_2024]
  • dispersers (categorical): ants (1); vertebrates (1) [sources: Butler_2004; NSWFRD_2014]
  • flowering_time (categorical): yyynnnnnyyyy (1) [sources: Cooper_2013]
  • seedbank_location (categorical): soil_seedbank (2) [sources: Benwell_2024; Metcalfe_2009]
  • seedbank_longevity_class (categorical): short_persistent (1) [sources: Metcalfe_2009]
  • clonal_spread_mechanism (categorical): non_clonal (1) [sources: Metcalfe_2009]
  • bud_bank_location (categorical): basal_buds (1); none (1) [sources: Baker_2019; Clarke_2015]
seed morphology
  • seed_dry_mass (numerical): 3.56 mg (1.1-13 mg) [sources: ANBG_2019; Grubb_1996; Kew_2019_1]
  • seed_length (numerical): 2.73 mm (1-5 mm) [sources: Cooper_2013; Kooyman_2011; NTH_2023]
  • seed_width (numerical): 2.25 mm (1-5 mm) [sources: Butler_2004; Kooyman_2011]
  • seed_shape (categorical): ellipsoid (1); ovoid (1) [sources: NTH_2023]
stem morphology
  • wood_density (numerical): 0.4 mg/mm3 (0.3-0.43 mg/mm3) [sources: Ilic_2000; Kooyman_2011; Metcalfe_2009; RadfordSmith_2024]
whole plant morphology

Sources

dataset_idn_traitsn_recordsreference
RadfordSmith_20241444J. 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.
Metcalfe_20091919E. 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.
NHNSW_20231217N. 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/.
NTH_20231316D. 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/.
Cooper_20131114W. Cooper and W. T. Cooper. Australian rainforest fruits. CSIRO Publishing, 2013, p. 272.
Kooyman_2011913R. 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.
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.
Butler_200455D. 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.
Benwell_202444A. 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.
Gross_200544C. 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.
Kew_2019_114Royal Botanic Gardens Kew. Seed Information Database (SID) and Seed Bank Database. 2019. url: http://data.kew.org/sid/.
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.
Williams_201244P. R. Williams, M. Parsons, R. Jensen, and C. Tran. “Mechanisms of rainforest persistence and recruitment in frequently burnt wet tropical eucalypt forests”. Austral Ecology 37.2 (2012), pp. 268-275. ISSN: 1442-9993. doi: 10.1111/j.1442-9993.2011.02271.x.
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.
Grubb_199633P. J. Grubb and D. J. Metcalfe. “Adaptation and inertia in the Australian tropical lowland rain-forest flora: Contradictory trends in intergeneric and intrageneric comparisons of seed size in relation to light demand”. Functional Ecology 10 (1996), pp. 512-520. doi: 10.2307/2389944.
NHNSW_202233N. 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/.
NTH_202233D. 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/.
Baker_201922A. Baker. “Unpublished data: Post-fire fire-response surveys on the NSW north coast, Southern Cross University”. 2019.
Ilic_200012J. 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.
Wenk_202222E. Wenk. “Unpublished data: Australian plant growth forms dataset”. 2022.
Wright_200022I. 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.
ANBG_201911Australian National Botanic Gardens. The National Seed Bank. 2018. url: http://www.anbg.gov.au/gardens/living/seedbank/.
NHNSW_2014_211Royal Botanic Gardens Sydney. PLantNET: NSW flora online. 2014. url: http://plantnet.rbgsyd.nsw.gov.au/.
Wenk_202311E. Wenk. “Unpublished data: Australian plant life history dataset, University of New South Wales, Sydney”. 2023.