AusTraits

Melaleuca uncinata

Explore the data for this taxon in the portal

Family Myrtaceae

Taxonomy: Melaleuca uncinata R.Br.

Synonyms: 2 (APC 2026-07-30)
  • Melaleuca nodosa var. stenostoma Domin (taxonomic synonym)
  • Myrtoleucodendron uncinatum (R.Br.) Kuntze (nomenclatural synonym)

Distribution (APC): WA, SA, Qld, NSW (native and naturalised), Vic

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

Traits

Top source datasets: ANBG_2019 (5), Barrett_2009 (3), Burrows_2008_2 (4), Burrows_2020 (4), Cheal_2017 (8), Clarke_2015 (2), Collette_2021 (1), Cunningham_1999 (15), Draper_2023 (3), Duncan_1998 (14), Fonseca_2000 (9), Harvey_2017 (6), Hughes_2005 (10), Ilic_2000 (1), Kew_2019_1 (5), Kew_2019_6 (9), McGlone_2015 (6), Moles_2011 (7), Morgan_2005 (5), Munroe_2019 (1), NHNSW_2014_2 (3), NHNSW_2022 (4), NHNSW_2023 (16), NSWFRD_2014 (6), Onoda_2010 (34), Pickup_2005 (5), RBGV_2022 (4), RBGV_2023 (10), Roderick_1999 (3), SAH_2022 (3), SAH_2023 (16), Schmidt_1993 (1), Shedley_2007 (60), Sjostrom_2006 (4), Sweedman_2006 (4), WAH_1998 (1), WAH_2022_2 (3), WAH_2023_2 (2), Wenk_2022 (2), Wenk_2023 (1), Westoby_2003 (4), Westoby_2014 (33), Wheeler_2002 (10), White_2020 (18), Wright_2001 (2), Wright_2002 (138), Zanne_2007 (18). See below for a full list of sources.
Summary: AusTraits contains 139 traits from 523 records in 47 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): resprouts (22) [sources: Barrett_2009; Burrows_2008_2; Burrows_2020; Cheal_2017; Clarke_2015; Harvey_2017; NSWFRD_2014; Shedley_2007]
  • post_fire_recruitment (categorical): post_fire_recruitment (3) [sources: Cheal_2017; Clarke_2015; NSWFRD_2014]
  • fire_time_from_fire_to_flowering (numerical): 72 mo (72-72 mo) [sources: Burrows_2020]
flower morphology
  • flower_colour (categorical): white_cream (1); yellow_orange (1) [sources: NHNSW_2014_2]
  • sex_type (categorical): hermaphrodite (1) [sources: Sjostrom_2006]
fruit morphology
  • fruit_width (numerical): 6 mm (1.5-13 mm) [sources: NHNSW_2023; SAH_2023]
  • fruit_height (numerical): 6 mm (1.5-13 mm) [sources: NHNSW_2023; SAH_2023]
  • fruit_type (categorical): capsule (4) [sources: NHNSW_2023; RBGV_2023; SAH_2023; Sjostrom_2006]
  • fruit_fleshiness (categorical): dry (1) [sources: Sjostrom_2006]
  • fruit_dehiscence (categorical): dehiscent (4) [sources: NHNSW_2023; RBGV_2023; SAH_2023; Sjostrom_2006]
leaf morphology
  • leaf_area (numerical): 32.11 mm2 (16.5-56.82 mm2) [sources: Duncan_1998; Fonseca_2000; Moles_2011; Morgan_2005; Pickup_2005; Westoby_2003; Westoby_2014; Wright_2002]
  • leaf_length (numerical): 39.2 mm (12-85 mm) [sources: McGlone_2015; NHNSW_2023; RBGV_2023; SAH_2023; Wheeler_2002]
  • leaf_width (numerical): 0.94 mm (0.7-1 mm) [sources: Cunningham_1999; Fonseca_2000; McGlone_2015; NHNSW_2023; RBGV_2023; SAH_2023; Wheeler_2002]
  • leaf_dry_mass (numerical): 8.03 mg (6-10.1 mg) [sources: Duncan_1998; Fonseca_2000]
  • leaf_mass_per_area (numerical): 332.2 g/m2 (202.87-460 g/m2) [sources: Cunningham_1999; Duncan_1998; Fonseca_2000; Moles_2011; Morgan_2005; Pickup_2005; Roderick_1999; Westoby_2003; Westoby_2014; Wright_2002; Zanne_2007]
  • leaf_area_ratio (numerical): 1.4 mm2/mg (1.4-1.4 mm2/mg) [sources: Pickup_2005]
  • leaf_dry_matter_content (numerical): 0.52 g/g (0.49-0.56 g/g) [sources: Cunningham_1999; Duncan_1998; Moles_2011]
  • leaf_shape (categorical): linear (1); terete (3) [sources: NHNSW_2023; RBGV_2023; SAH_2023; Wheeler_2002]
  • leaf_margin (categorical): entire (3) [sources: NHNSW_2014_2; RBGV_2023; SAH_2023]
  • leaf_lobation (categorical): unlobed (1) [sources: Wheeler_2002]
  • leaf_compoundness (categorical): simple (5) [sources: McGlone_2015; NHNSW_2023; RBGV_2023; SAH_2023; Wheeler_2002]
  • leaf_lamina_posture (categorical): recurved (1) [sources: NHNSW_2023]
  • leaf_hairs_adult_leaves (categorical): glabrous (1) [sources: Moles_2011]
  • leaf_hairs_immature_leaves (categorical): glabrous (1) [sources: Moles_2011]
  • leaf_phyllotaxis (categorical): alternate (2) [sources: NHNSW_2023; SAH_2023]
  • plant_photosynthetic_organ (categorical): leaf (3) [sources: NHNSW_2023; RBGV_2023; SAH_2023]
life history
  • photosynthetic_pathway (categorical): c3 (4) [sources: Cunningham_1999; Duncan_1998; Munroe_2019; White_2020]
  • plant_growth_form (categorical): shrub (27); tree (1) [sources: Barrett_2009; Fonseca_2000; McGlone_2015; Moles_2011; NHNSW_2022; NSWFRD_2014; RBGV_2022; SAH_2022; Shedley_2007; WAH_2022_2; Wenk_2022; Wheeler_2002; White_2020]
  • life_history (categorical): perennial (9) [sources: Burrows_2008_2; Burrows_2020; Cheal_2017; NHNSW_2022; RBGV_2022; SAH_2022; WAH_2022_2; Wenk_2023; Wheeler_2002]
  • woodiness_detailed (categorical): woody (5) [sources: NHNSW_2022; RBGV_2022; SAH_2022; WAH_2022_2; Wenk_2022]
  • stem_growth_habit (categorical): erect (2) [sources: NHNSW_2022; RBGV_2022]
  • leaf_phenology (categorical): evergreen (1) [sources: Cunningham_1999]
  • nitrogen_fixing (categorical): non_nitrogen_fixer (2) [sources: Cunningham_1999; White_2020]
  • root_structure (categorical): arbuscular_mycorrhizal (1); ectomycorrhizal (1) [sources: Schmidt_1993]
  • parasitic (categorical): not_parasitic (1) [sources: White_2020]
  • pollination_syndrome (categorical): insect (2) [sources: Draper_2023; White_2020]
  • dispersal_syndrome (categorical): anemochory (1); barochory (1) [sources: Draper_2023; White_2020]
  • dispersers (categorical): passive (1); wind (1) [sources: Draper_2023; White_2020]
  • flowering_time (categorical): nnnnnnnnyyyn (3); yyynnnyyyyyy (1) [sources: NHNSW_2014_2; NSWFRD_2014; WAH_1998; White_2020]
  • seedbank_location (categorical): canopy_seedbank (1); soil_seedbank_absent (1) [sources: Harvey_2017]
  • serotiny (categorical): serotinous (1) [sources: Harvey_2017]
  • seedbank_longevity_class (categorical): long_persistent (1); transient (1) [sources: Cheal_2017; White_2020]
  • seed_dormancy_class (categorical): non_dormant (1) [sources: Collette_2021]
  • vegetative_reproduction_ability (categorical): not_vegetative (1) [sources: White_2020]
  • storage_organ (categorical): lignotuber (1) [sources: NSWFRD_2014]
  • bud_bank_location (categorical): basal_buds (18); basal_stem_buds (1) [sources: Barrett_2009; Burrows_2008_2; Burrows_2020; NSWFRD_2014; Shedley_2007]
nutrient and stable isotope
  • leaf_N_per_dry_mass (numerical): 12.82 mg/g (11-16.39 mg/g) [sources: Cunningham_1999; Roderick_1999; Westoby_2014; Wright_2002]
  • leaf_P_per_dry_mass (numerical): 0.86 mg/g (0.78-0.92 mg/g) [sources: Westoby_2014; Wright_2002]
  • leaf_delta13C (numerical): -26.92 {delta}[ppth] (-27.74--26.25 {delta}[ppth]) [sources: Westoby_2014; Wright_2002]
seed morphology
  • seed_dry_mass (numerical): 0.12 mg (0.04-0.7 mg) [sources: ANBG_2019; Kew_2019_1; Wright_2001]
  • seed_length (numerical): 0.79 mm (0.79-0.79 mm) [sources: ANBG_2019]
  • seed_width (numerical): 0.43 mm (0.43-0.43 mm) [sources: ANBG_2019]
  • seed_shape (categorical): sectoroid (1) [sources: ANBG_2019]
stem morphology
  • wood_density (numerical): 0.78 mg/mm3 (0.64-0.86 mg/mm3) [sources: Hughes_2005; Ilic_2000; Morgan_2005; Onoda_2010; Pickup_2005; Westoby_2014; Zanne_2007]
  • huber_value (numerical): 0 mm2{sapwood}/mm2{leaf} (0-0.01 mm2{sapwood}/mm2{leaf}) [sources: Pickup_2005; Westoby_2014; Zanne_2007]
  • stem_vessel_density (numerical): 272.5 {count}/mm2 (254-291 {count}/mm2) [sources: Hughes_2005]
  • stem_vessel_diameter (numerical): 21 um (21-21 um) [sources: Hughes_2005]
  • stem_vessel_lumen_fraction (numerical): 0.1 mm2/mm2 (0.1-0.11 mm2/mm2) [sources: Hughes_2005]
whole plant morphology

Sources

dataset_idn_traitsn_recordsreference
Wright_200234138I. J. Wright and M. Westoby. “Leaves at low versus high rainfall: Coordination of structure, lifespan and physiology”. New Phytologist 155 (2002), pp. 403-416. doi: 10.1046/j.1469-8137.2002.00479.x.
Shedley_2007460E. F. Shedley. Fire and Biodiversity Guidelines for the Avon Basin: Consultant Report to the Avon Catchment Council and the Department of Environment and Conservation, August 2007. Tech. rep. Department of Environment and Conservation, Western Australia, 2007.
Onoda_2010734Y. Onoda, A. E. Richards, and M. Westoby. “The relationship between stem biomechanics and wood density is modified by rainfall in 32 Australian woody plant species”. New Phytologist 185.2 (2009), pp. 493-501. doi: 10.1111/j.1469-8137.2009.03088.x.
Westoby_20142833S. 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.
White_20201818M. White, S. Sinclair, and D. Frood. Victorian Vital Attributes Database. database. Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning, Victoria, 2020.
Zanne_2007618A. Zanne. “Unpublished data: Hydraulic traits for NSW plant species from four field sites, Macquarie University”. 2007.
NHNSW_20231216N. 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/.
SAH_20231216S. 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/.
Cunningham_19991515S. A. Cunningham, B. Summerhayes, and M. Westoby. “Evolutionary divergences in leaf structure and chemistry, comparing rainfall and soil nutrient gradients”. Ecological Monographs 69 (1999), pp. 569-588. doi: [10.1890/0012-9615(1999)069[0569:EDILSA]2.0.CO;2](https://doi.org/10.1890%2F0012-9615%281999%29069%5B0569%3AEDILSA%5D2.0.CO%3B2).
Duncan_19981414D. H. Duncan. “Unpublished data: Structural basis of variation in leaf mass per area in three plant clades, Macquarie University”. 1998.
Hughes_2005510K. Hughes. “Unpublished data: Wood and stem density data for Australian plant species, Macquarie University”. 2005.
RBGV_2023910VicFlora. Flora of Victoria, Royal Botanic Gardens Victoria. accessed on 6 May, 2022.. 2023. url: https://vicflora.rbg.vic.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.
Fonseca_200059C. R. Fonseca, J. M. Overton, B. Collins, and M. Westoby. “Shifts in trait-combinations along rainfall and phosphorus gradients”. Journal of Ecology 88 (2000), pp. 964-977. doi: 10.1046/j.1365-2745.2000.00506.x.
Kew_2019_619Royal Botanic Gardens Kew. Germination data from the Seed Information Database (SID) and Seed Bank Database. 2019. url: http://data.kew.org/sid/.
Cheal_201788D. 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.
Moles_201177A. T. Moles, I. R. Wallis, W. J. Foley, D. I. Warton, J. C. Stegen, A. J. Bisigato, L. Cella-Pizarro, C. J. Clark, P. S. Cohen, W. K. Cornwell, W. Edwards, R. Ejrnaes, T. Gonzales-Ojeda, B. J. Graae, G. Hay, F. C. Lumbwe, B. Magana-Rodriguez, B. D. Moore, P. L. Peri, J. R. Poulsen, R. Veldtman, H. von Zeipel, N. R. Andrew, S. L. Boulter, E. T. Borer, F. F. Campon, M. Coll, A. G. Farji-Brener, J. D. Gabriel, E. Jurado, L. A. Kyhn, B. Low, C. P. H. Mulder, K. Reardon-Smith, J. Rodriguez-Velazquez, E. W. Seabloom, P. A. Vesk, A. van Cauter, M. S. Waldram, Z. Zheng, P. G. Blendinger, B. J. Enquist, J. M. Facelli, T. Knight, J. D. Majer, M. Martinez-Ramos, P. McQuillan, and L. D. Prior. “Putting plant resistance traits on the map: A test of the idea that plants are better defended at lower latitudes”. New Phytologist 191.3 (2011), pp. 777-788. doi: 10.1111/j.1469-8137.2011.03732.x.
Harvey_201766J. M. Harvey, A. J. M. Hopkins, M. A. Langley, C. R. Gosper, M. R. Williams, and C. J. Yates. “Long-term studies of post-fire reproduction in an Australian shrubland and woodland”. Australian Journal of Botany 65.4 (2017), p. 339. doi: 10.1071/bt17011.
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.
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.
ANBG_201955Australian National Botanic Gardens. The National Seed Bank. 2018. url: http://www.anbg.gov.au/gardens/living/seedbank/.
Kew_2019_115Royal Botanic Gardens Kew. Seed Information Database (SID) and Seed Bank Database. 2019. url: http://data.kew.org/sid/.
Morgan_200555H. Morgan. “Root system architecture, water use and rainfall responses of perennial species”. PhD. Macquarie University, 2005.
Pickup_200555M. Pickup, M. Westoby, and A. Basden. “Dry mass costs of deploying leaf area in relation to leaf size”. Functional Ecology 19.1 (2005), pp. 88-97. doi: 10.1111/j.0269-8463.2005.00927.x.
Burrows_2008_244N. 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_202044N. Burrows. Data from 'Plant Ecological Attributes' theme, NatureMap, DBCA, WA. 2020.
NHNSW_202244N. 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/.
RBGV_202244VicFlora. Flora of Victoria, Royal Botanic Gardens Victoria. accessed on 6 May, 2022.. 2022. url: https://vicflora.rbg.vic.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.
Sweedman_200624L. Sweedman and D. Merritt. Australian Seeds: A Guide to Their Collection, Identification, and Biology. CSIRO Publishing, 2006. ISBN: 9780643094079.
Westoby_200344M. Westoby and I. J. Wright. “The leaf size - twig size spectrum and its relationship to other important spectra of variation among species”. Oecologia 135 (2003), pp. 621-628. doi: 10.1007/s00442-003-1231-6.
Barrett_200933S. Barrett, S. Comer, N. McQuoid, M. Porter, C. Tiller, and D. Utber. Identification and Conservation of Fire Sensitive Ecosystems and Species of the South Coast Natural Resource Management Region.. government. Department of Conservation and Land Management, South Coast Region, Western Australia, 2009.
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_2014_233Royal Botanic Gardens Sydney. PLantNET: NSW flora online. 2014. url: http://plantnet.rbgsyd.nsw.gov.au/.
Roderick_199933M. L. Roderick, S. L. Berry, and I. R. Noble. “The relationship between leaf composition and morphology at elevated CO2 concentrations”. New Phytologist 143.1 (1999), pp. 63-72. doi: 10.1046/j.1469-8137.1999.00438.x.
SAH_202233S. 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/.
WAH_2022_233Western Australian Herbarium. Florabase—the Western Australian Flora.. accessed on 14 September, 2022.. 2022. url: https://florabase.dpaw.wa.gov.au/.
Clarke_201522P. 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.
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.
Wright_200112I. J. Wright. “Unpublished data: Seed mass reserve data for various species in NSW, Macquarie University”. 2001.
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.
Ilic_200011J. 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.
Munroe_201911S. E. M. Munroe, F. A. McInerney, J. Andrae, N. Welti, G. R. Guerin, E. Leitch, T. Hall, S. Szarvas, R. Atkins, S. Caddy-Retalic, and B. Sparrow. “The Photosynthetic Pathways of Plant Species Surveyed in Australia's National Terrestrial Monitoring Network”. Scientific Data 8 (2021), p. 97. doi: 10.1038/s41597-021-00877-z.
Schmidt_199311S. Schmidt. “Unpublished data: Compilation of mycorrhizal status data, University of Queensland”. 1993.
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.