Kunzea capitata

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Family Myrtaceae

Taxonomy: Kunzea capitata (Sm.) Heynh.

Synonyms: 3 (APC 2026-07-30)

Callistemon capitatus (Sm.) Rchb. (nomenclatural synonym)
Metrosideros capitata Sm. (nomenclatural synonym)
Stenospermum capitatum Sweet (taxonomic synonym)

Distribution (APC): NSW

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

Traits

Top source datasets: Auld_2000 (4), Bragg_2002 (1), Clarke_2015 (3), Collette_2021 (1), Falster_2003 (3), Henery_2001 (3), Hughes_1992 (3), Kew_2019_1 (2), Kubiak_2009 (4), Leishman_1993 (1), Leishman_1995 (6), NHNSW_2014_2 (4), NHNSW_2022 (4), NHNSW_2023 (18), NSWFRD_2014 (13), Pickup_2021 (5), Schmidt_1993 (1), Sjostrom_2006 (4), Wenk_2022 (2), Wenk_2023 (1), Westoby_2014 (1), White_2020 (18), eFLOWER_Dun_2022 (12). See below for a full list of sources.
Summary: AusTraits contains 66 traits from 114 records in 23 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 (4); partial_resprouting (1); resprouts (2) [sources: Auld_2000; Clarke_2015; Kubiak_2009; NSWFRD_2014; Pickup_2021]
post_fire_recruitment (categorical): post_fire_recruitment (3) [sources: Clarke_2015; NSWFRD_2014; Pickup_2021]

flower morphology

flower_colour (categorical): blue_purple (1); pink (1); white_cream (1) [sources: NHNSW_2014_2]
sex_type (categorical): hermaphrodite (1) [sources: Sjostrom_2006]

fruit morphology

fruit_length (numerical): 3.75 mm (3-4.5 mm) [sources: NHNSW_2023]
fruit_width (numerical): 2.25 mm (2-2.5 mm) [sources: NHNSW_2023]
fruit_height (numerical): 2.25 mm (2-2.5 mm) [sources: NHNSW_2023]
fruit_type (categorical): capsule (2) [sources: NHNSW_2023; Sjostrom_2006]
fruit_fleshiness (categorical): dry (1) [sources: Sjostrom_2006]
fruit_dehiscence (categorical): dehiscent (2) [sources: NHNSW_2023; Sjostrom_2006]

leaf morphology

leaf_area (numerical): 9.73 mm2 (8-11.2 mm2) [sources: Bragg_2002; Falster_2003; Leishman_1995]
leaf_length (numerical): 6.25 mm (3.5-9 mm) [sources: NHNSW_2023]
leaf_width (numerical): 3 mm (1.5-4.5 mm) [sources: NHNSW_2023]
petiole_length (numerical): 0.1 cm (0.1-0.1 cm) [sources: NHNSW_2023]
leaf_mass_per_area (numerical): 141.44 g/m2 (141.44-141.44 g/m2) [sources: Leishman_1995]
leaf_shape (categorical): oblanceolate (1); obovate (1) [sources: NHNSW_2023]
leaf_margin (categorical): entire (1) [sources: NHNSW_2014_2]
leaf_compoundness (categorical): simple (2) [sources: Falster_2003; NHNSW_2023]
leaf_lamina_posture (categorical): recurved (1) [sources: NHNSW_2023]
leaf_phyllotaxis (categorical): alternate (1) [sources: NHNSW_2014_2]
leaf_inclination_angle (numerical): 56.7 deg (56.7-56.7 deg) [sources: Falster_2003]
plant_photosynthetic_organ (categorical): leaf (1) [sources: NHNSW_2023]

life history

photosynthetic_pathway (categorical): c3 (1) [sources: White_2020]
plant_growth_form (categorical): shrub (7) [sources: Hughes_1992; Leishman_1995; NHNSW_2022; NSWFRD_2014; Pickup_2021; Wenk_2022; White_2020]
life_history (categorical): perennial (2) [sources: NHNSW_2022; Wenk_2023]
woodiness_detailed (categorical): woody (2) [sources: NHNSW_2022; Wenk_2022]
stem_growth_habit (categorical): decumbent (1); erect (1); spindly (1) [sources: NHNSW_2022]
nitrogen_fixing (categorical): non_nitrogen_fixer (1) [sources: White_2020]
root_structure (categorical): ectomycorrhizal (1) [sources: Schmidt_1993]
parasitic (categorical): not_parasitic (1) [sources: White_2020]
pollination_syndrome (categorical): insect (1) [sources: White_2020]
dispersal_syndrome (categorical): anemochory (1); barochory (1) [sources: Leishman_1995; White_2020]
dispersers (categorical): wind (1) [sources: White_2020]
flowering_time (categorical): nnnnnnnnnyyy (1); nnnnnnnnyynn (1); nnnnnnnyyyyn (2) [sources: Hughes_1992; NHNSW_2014_2; NSWFRD_2014; White_2020]
seedbank_location (categorical): soil_seedbank (2) [sources: NSWFRD_2014; Pickup_2021]
seedbank_longevity_class (categorical): persistent (2); transient (1) [sources: NSWFRD_2014; Pickup_2021; White_2020]
seed_dormancy_class (categorical): physiological_dormancy (1) [sources: Collette_2021]
seed_viability (numerical): 0.92 {count}/{count} (0.92-0.92 {count}/{count}) [sources: Auld_2000]
vegetative_reproduction_ability (categorical): not_vegetative (1) [sources: White_2020]
bud_bank_location (categorical): basal_buds (1); none (1) [sources: Clarke_2015; NSWFRD_2014]

seed morphology

seed_dry_mass (numerical): 0.27 mg (0.04-1.06 mg) [sources: Auld_2000; Henery_2001; Kew_2019_1; Leishman_1993; Leishman_1995]

whole plant morphology

plant_height (numerical): 1.83 m (1.5-2 m) [sources: Hughes_1992; Leishman_1995; NHNSW_2023]
plant_physical_defence_structures (categorical): absent (1) [sources: White_2020]

Sources

dataset_id	n_traits	n_records	reference
NHNSW_2023	13	18	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/.
White_2020	18	18	M. White, S. Sinclair, and D. Frood. Victorian Vital Attributes Database. database. Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning, Victoria, 2020.
NSWFRD_2014	11	13	B. 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.
eFLOWER_Dun_2022	10	12	L. Dun and H. Sauquet. “Unpublished: Floral traits for GAP taxa, University of New South Wales, Australia”. 2022.
Leishman_1995	6	6	M. 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.
Pickup_2021	5	5	M. 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.
Auld_2000	4	4	T. D. Auld, D. A. Keith, and R. A. Bradstock. “Patterns in longevity of soil seedbanks in fire-prone communities of south-eastern Australia”. Australian Journal of Botany 48.4 (2000), pp. 539-548. doi: 10.1071/bt99046.
Kubiak_2009	3	4	P. J. Kubiak. “Fire responses of bushland plants after the January 1994 wildfires in northern Sydney”. Cunninghamia 11.1 (2009), pp. 131-165.
NHNSW_2014_2	4	4	Royal Botanic Gardens Sydney. PLantNET: NSW flora online. 2014. url: http://plantnet.rbgsyd.nsw.gov.au/.
NHNSW_2022	4	4	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/.
Sjostrom_2006	4	4	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.
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.
Falster_2003	3	3	D. S. Falster and M. Westoby. “Leaf size and angle vary widely across species: what consequences for light interception?”. New Phytologist 158.3 (2003), pp. 509-525. doi: 10.1046/j.1469-8137.2003.00765.x.
Henery_2001	3	3	M. L. Henery and M. Westoby. “Seed mass and seed nutrient content as predictors of seed output variation between species”. Oikos 92 (2001), pp. 479-490. doi: 10.1034/j.1600-0706.2001.920309.x.
Hughes_1992	3	3	L. Hughes and B. Rice. “Unpublished data: Traits data for 643 species, Macquarie University”. 1992.
Kew_2019_1	1	2	Royal Botanic Gardens Kew. Seed Information Database (SID) and Seed Bank Database. 2019. url: http://data.kew.org/sid/.
Wenk_2022	2	2	E. Wenk. “Unpublished data: Australian plant growth forms dataset”. 2022.
Bragg_2002	1	1	J. G. Bragg and M. Westoby. “Leaf size and foraging for light in a sclerophyll woodland”. Functional Ecology 16 (2002), pp. 633-639. doi: 10.1046/j.1365-2435.2002.00661.x.
Collette_2021	1	1	J. 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.
Leishman_1993	1	1	M. Leishman. “Unpublished data: Seed mass data for Sydney species, Macquarie University”. 1990.
Schmidt_1993	1	1	S. Schmidt. “Unpublished data: Compilation of mycorrhizal status data, University of Queensland”. 1993.
Wenk_2023	1	1	E. Wenk. “Unpublished data: Australian plant life history dataset, University of New South Wales, Sydney”. 2023.
Westoby_2014	1	1	S. M. Gleason, D. W. Butler, K. Zieminska, P. Waryszak, and M. Westoby. “Stem xylem conductivity is key to plant water balance across Australian angiosperm species”. Functional Ecology 26 (2012), pp. 343-352. doi: 10.1111/j.1365-2435.2012.01962.x.