AusTraits

Heptapleurum actinophyllum

Explore the data for this taxon in the portal

Family Araliaceae

Taxonomy: Heptapleurum actinophyllum (Endl.) Lowry & G.M.Plunkett

Synonyms: 3 (APC 2026-07-30)
  • Brassaia actinophora Endl. (nomenclatural synonym)
  • Brassaia actinophylla Endl. (nomenclatural synonym)
  • Schefflera actinophylla (Endl.) Harms (nomenclatural synonym)

Distribution (APC): ChI (naturalised), NT, Qld (native and naturalised), NSW (doubtfully naturalised), NI (doubtfully naturalised)

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

Traits

Top source datasets: ATRP_2020 (1), Apgaua_2017 (12), Brock_1993 (12), Butler_2004 (5), Cheesman_2020 (8), Cooper_2013 (14), Crowley_2007 (2), Gross_2005 (4), Grubb_1996 (4), Ilic_2000 (2), Kew_2019_1 (5), Kooyman_2011 (13), Metcalfe_2009 (18), NHNSW_2014_2 (10), NHNSW_2024 (14), Nano_2011 (2), RussellSmith_2012 (4), Sjostrom_2006 (4), Wenk_2022 (2), Wenk_2023 (1), Wright_2000 (7), eFLOWER_Dun_2022 (10). See below for a full list of sources.
Summary: AusTraits contains 75 traits from 154 records in 22 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 (1); partial_resprouting (1); resprouts (2) [sources: Crowley_2007; Metcalfe_2009; Nano_2011; RussellSmith_2012]
flower morphology
  • flower_colour (categorical): red_brown (1) [sources: NHNSW_2014_2]
  • sex_type (categorical): hermaphrodite (2) [sources: Gross_2005; Sjostrom_2006]
fruit morphology
  • fruit_length (numerical): 5.5 mm (3-8 mm) [sources: Cooper_2013; NHNSW_2024]
  • fruit_width (numerical): 22.5 mm (20-25 mm) [sources: Cooper_2013]
  • fruit_type (categorical): berry (1); drupe (3) [sources: Cooper_2013; Gross_2005; NHNSW_2024; Sjostrom_2006]
  • fruit_fleshiness (categorical): fleshy (4) [sources: Cooper_2013; Gross_2005; Metcalfe_2009; Sjostrom_2006]
  • fruit_dehiscence (categorical): indehiscent (3) [sources: Cooper_2013; Gross_2005; Sjostrom_2006]
  • fruit_colour (categorical): red (1) [sources: NHNSW_2024]
leaf morphology
  • leaf_area (numerical): 21725 mm2 (18250-25200 mm2) [sources: Cheesman_2020; Metcalfe_2009]
  • leaf_length (numerical): 188.12 mm (80-300 mm) [sources: Brock_1993; Kooyman_2011; NHNSW_2014_2; NHNSW_2024]
  • leaf_width (numerical): 75 mm (40-140 mm) [sources: Brock_1993; Kooyman_2011; NHNSW_2014_2; NHNSW_2024]
  • leaf_mass_per_area (numerical): 118.6 g/m2 (118.6-118.6 g/m2) [sources: Cheesman_2020]
  • leaf_type (categorical): broadleaf (1) [sources: NHNSW_2024]
  • leaf_shape (categorical): elliptical (1); oblong (1); obovate (1) [sources: Brock_1993; NHNSW_2024]
  • leaf_base_shape (categorical): rounded (1) [sources: NHNSW_2024]
  • leaf_margin (categorical): entire (1) [sources: NHNSW_2024]
  • leaf_lobation (categorical): unlobed (1) [sources: Kooyman_2011]
  • leaf_compoundness (categorical): compound (2); simple (1) [sources: Brock_1993; Kooyman_2011; NHNSW_2014_2]
  • leaf_phyllotaxis (categorical): alternate (1) [sources: NHNSW_2014_2]
  • plant_photosynthetic_organ (categorical): leaf (1) [sources: NHNSW_2024]
life history
  • photosynthetic_pathway (categorical): c3 (1) [sources: Metcalfe_2009]
  • plant_growth_form (categorical): shrub (4); tree (9) [sources: ATRP_2020; Apgaua_2017; Brock_1993; Butler_2004; Cheesman_2020; Cooper_2013; Grubb_1996; Kooyman_2011; Metcalfe_2009; Wenk_2022]
  • life_form (categorical): phanerophyte (1) [sources: Metcalfe_2009]
  • life_history (categorical): perennial (3) [sources: Brock_1993; Metcalfe_2009; Wenk_2023]
  • plant_growth_substrate (categorical): epiphyte (1) [sources: Grubb_1996]
  • woodiness_detailed (categorical): woody (1) [sources: Wenk_2022]
  • leaf_phenology (categorical): evergreen (3) [sources: Brock_1993; Kooyman_2011; NHNSW_2014_2]
  • nitrogen_fixing (categorical): non_nitrogen_fixer (1) [sources: Metcalfe_2009]
  • root_structure (categorical): mycorrhizal (1) [sources: Metcalfe_2009]
  • pollination_syndrome (categorical): fly (1) [sources: Metcalfe_2009]
  • dispersal_syndrome (categorical): endozoochory (2); zoochory (1) [sources: Butler_2004; Grubb_1996; Metcalfe_2009]
  • dispersers (categorical): bats (1); birds (1); mammals (1); vertebrates (1) [sources: Butler_2004; Cooper_2013]
  • flowering_time (categorical): nnnnnnnyyyyy (1); nnyyynnnnnnn (1); yyyyynnnnyyy (1) [sources: Brock_1993; Cooper_2013; NHNSW_2014_2]
  • seedbank_location (categorical): soil_seedbank (1) [sources: Metcalfe_2009]
  • seedbank_longevity_class (categorical): persistent (1); short_persistent (1) [sources: Metcalfe_2009; RussellSmith_2012]
  • clonal_spread_mechanism (categorical): non_clonal (1) [sources: Metcalfe_2009]
  • bud_bank_location (categorical): none (2) [sources: Crowley_2007; Nano_2011]
nutrient and stable isotope
  • leaf_N_per_dry_mass (numerical): 10.98 mg/g (10.98-10.98 mg/g) [sources: Cheesman_2020]
  • leaf_delta13C (numerical): -29.58 {delta}[ppth] (-30.13--29.03 {delta}[ppth]) [sources: Apgaua_2017; Cheesman_2020]
seed morphology
  • seed_dry_mass (numerical): 5.06 mg (2.7-10.81 mg) [sources: Grubb_1996; Kew_2019_1]
  • seed_length (numerical): 5.5 mm (5-6 mm) [sources: Cooper_2013; Kooyman_2011]
  • seed_width (numerical): 2.25 mm (1-3 mm) [sources: Butler_2004; Kooyman_2011]
stem morphology
  • wood_density (numerical): 0.4 mg/mm3 (0.39-0.41 mg/mm3) [sources: Apgaua_2017; Ilic_2000; Kooyman_2011; Metcalfe_2009]
  • stem_vessel_density (numerical): 16.46 {count}/mm2 (16.46-16.46 {count}/mm2) [sources: Apgaua_2017]
  • stem_vessel_diameter (numerical): 77.74 um (77.74-77.74 um) [sources: Apgaua_2017]
  • stem_vessel_lumen_fraction (numerical): 0.07 mm2/mm2 (0.07-0.07 mm2/mm2) [sources: Apgaua_2017]
whole plant morphology

Sources

dataset_idn_traitsn_recordsreference
Metcalfe_20091818E. 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.
Cooper_20131114W. Cooper and W. T. Cooper. Australian rainforest fruits. CSIRO Publishing, 2013, p. 272.
NHNSW_20241114N. 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/.
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.
Apgaua_20171112D. M. G. Apgaua, D. Y. P. Tng, L. A. Cernusak, A. W. Cheesman, R. M. Santos, W. J. Edwards, and S. G. W. Laurance. “Plant functional groups within a tropical forest exhibit different wood functional anatomy”. Functional Ecology 31.3 (2017), pp. 582-591. doi: 10.1111/1365-2435.12787.
Brock_1993912J. Brock and A. Dunlop. Native plants of northern Australia. Reed New Holland, 1993. ISBN: 9781877069246.
NHNSW_2014_2810Royal Botanic Gardens Sydney. PLantNET: NSW flora online. 2014. url: http://plantnet.rbgsyd.nsw.gov.au/.
eFLOWER_Dun_2022710L. Dun and H. Sauquet. “Unpublished: Floral traits for GAP taxa, University of New South Wales, Australia”. 2022.
Cheesman_202088A. W. Cheesman, H. Duff, K. Hill, L. A. Cernusak, and F. A. McInerney. “Isotopic and morphologic proxies for reconstructing light environment and leaf function of fossil leaves: A modern calibration in the Daintree Rainforest, Australia”. American Journal of Botany 107 (2020), pp. 1165-1176. doi: 10.1002/ajb2.1523.
Wright_200077I. 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.
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.
Kew_2019_115Royal Botanic Gardens Kew. Seed Information Database (SID) and Seed Bank Database. 2019. url: http://data.kew.org/sid/.
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.
Grubb_199644P. 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.
RussellSmith_201244J. Russell-Smith, M. R. Gardener, C. Brock, K. Brennan, C. P. Yates, and B. Grace. “Fire persistence traits can be used to predict vegetation response to changing fire regimes at expansive landscape scales - an Australian example”. Journal of Biogeography 39 (2012), pp. 1657-1668. doi: 10.1111/j.1365-2699.2012.02714.x.
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.
Crowley_200722G. Crowley, M. Gardener, and M. Marrinan. Tropical savannas fire response database. 2007. url: [www.landmanager.org.au](www.landmanager.org.au).
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.
Nano_201122C. E. M. Nano and P. J. Clarke. “How do drought and fire influence the patterns of resprouting in Australian deserts?”. Plant Ecology 212 (2011), pp. 2095-2110. doi: 10.1007/s11258-011-9988-x.
Wenk_202222E. Wenk. “Unpublished data: Australian plant growth forms dataset”. 2022.
ATRP_202011F. 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.
Wenk_202311E. Wenk. “Unpublished data: Australian plant life history dataset, University of New South Wales, Sydney”. 2023.