AusTraits

Melodinus australis

Explore the data for this taxon in the portal

Family Apocynaceae

Taxonomy: Melodinus australis (F.Muell.) Pierre

Synonyms: 7 (APC 2026-07-30)
  • Chilocarpus australis F.Muell. (nomenclatural synonym)
  • Clitandropsis novoguineensis (Wernham) S.Moore ex Markgr. (taxonomic synonym)
  • Clitandropsis papuana S.Moore (taxonomic synonym)
  • Melodinus chilocarpoides F.Muell. (nomenclatural synonym)
  • Melodinus novoguineensis (Wernham) Pichon (taxonomic synonym)
  • Rhytileucoma chilocarpoides F.Muell. (taxonomic synonym)
  • Willughbeia novoguineensis Wernham (taxonomic synonym)
Misapplied names: 1 (APC 2026-07-30)
  • Melodinus orientalis Blume (misapplied)

Distribution (APC): Qld, NSW

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

Traits

Top source datasets: ABRS_2022 (3), ABRS_2023 (22), ATRP_2020 (1), Benwell_2024 (4), Butler_2004 (5), Cooper_2013 (13), Crowley_2007 (2), Gallagher_2012 (3), Hyland_2003 (1), Kew_2019_1 (2), Kooyman_2011 (12), McCarthy_2017 (2), Metcalfe_2009 (17), NHNSW_2014_2 (10), NHNSW_2016 (2), NHNSW_2024 (15), Sjostrom_2006 (4), Wells_2012 (55), Wenk_2022 (2), Wenk_2023 (1). See below for a full list of sources.
Summary: AusTraits contains 69 traits from 176 records in 20 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): partial_resprouting (1); resprouts (2) [sources: Benwell_2024; Crowley_2007; Metcalfe_2009]
  • post_fire_recruitment (categorical): post_fire_recruitment_absent (1) [sources: Benwell_2024]
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_length (numerical): 81.67 mm (40-150 mm) [sources: ABRS_2023; Cooper_2013; NHNSW_2024]
  • fruit_width (numerical): 27.5 mm (15-50 mm) [sources: ABRS_2023; Cooper_2013; NHNSW_2024]
  • fruit_height (numerical): 27.5 mm (15-40 mm) [sources: ABRS_2023]
  • fruit_type (categorical): berry (5) [sources: ABRS_2023; Cooper_2013; Gallagher_2012; NHNSW_2024; Sjostrom_2006]
  • fruit_fleshiness (categorical): fleshy (4) [sources: Cooper_2013; Metcalfe_2009; Sjostrom_2006; Wells_2012]
  • fruit_dehiscence (categorical): indehiscent (3) [sources: ABRS_2023; Cooper_2013; Sjostrom_2006]
  • fruit_colour (categorical): orange (2); red (2) [sources: ABRS_2023; NHNSW_2024]
leaf morphology
  • leaf_area (numerical): 6014.61 mm2 (1687.38-11025 mm2) [sources: McCarthy_2017; Metcalfe_2009; NHNSW_2016; Wells_2012]
  • leaf_length (numerical): 92.5 mm (30-190 mm) [sources: ABRS_2023; Kooyman_2011; NHNSW_2014_2; NHNSW_2024]
  • leaf_width (numerical): 32.5 mm (5-70 mm) [sources: ABRS_2023; Kooyman_2011; NHNSW_2014_2; NHNSW_2024]
  • leaf_dry_mass (numerical): 103.48 mg (85.04-125.88 mg) [sources: Wells_2012]
  • petiole_length (numerical): 0.22 cm (0.15-0.3 cm) [sources: ABRS_2023]
  • leaf_mass_per_area (numerical): 49.21 g/m2 (48.08-50.39 g/m2) [sources: McCarthy_2017; Wells_2012]
  • leaf_dry_matter_content (numerical): 0.26 g/g (0.25-0.27 g/g) [sources: Wells_2012]
  • leaf_type (categorical): broadleaf (1) [sources: NHNSW_2024]
  • leaf_shape (categorical): elliptical (1); lanceolate (2); narrowly_elliptical (1); oblong (1); obovate (1); obtriangular (1); ovate (1) [sources: ABRS_2023; NHNSW_2024]
  • leaf_margin (categorical): entire (2) [sources: ABRS_2023; NHNSW_2014_2]
  • leaf_margin_posture (categorical): undulate (1) [sources: NHNSW_2024]
  • leaf_lobation (categorical): unlobed (1) [sources: Kooyman_2011]
  • leaf_compoundness (categorical): simple (3) [sources: ABRS_2023; Kooyman_2011; NHNSW_2014_2]
  • leaf_lamina_posture (categorical): undulate (1) [sources: NHNSW_2024]
  • leaf_phyllotaxis (categorical): alternate (1); opposite (1) [sources: ABRS_2023; NHNSW_2014_2]
  • plant_photosynthetic_organ (categorical): leaf (2) [sources: ABRS_2023; NHNSW_2024]
life history
  • photosynthetic_pathway (categorical): c3 (1) [sources: Metcalfe_2009]
  • plant_growth_form (categorical): climber_herbaceous (3); climber_woody (5) [sources: ABRS_2022; ATRP_2020; Butler_2004; Cooper_2013; Kooyman_2011; Metcalfe_2009; Wells_2012; Wenk_2022]
  • life_form (categorical): phanerophyte (1) [sources: Metcalfe_2009]
  • life_history (categorical): perennial (3) [sources: ABRS_2022; Metcalfe_2009; Wenk_2023]
  • woodiness_detailed (categorical): woody (3) [sources: ABRS_2022; Hyland_2003; Wenk_2022]
  • plant_climbing_mechanism (categorical): twining (1) [sources: Gallagher_2012]
  • stem_growth_habit (categorical): climbing (1) [sources: NHNSW_2014_2]
  • leaf_phenology (categorical): evergreen (1) [sources: Kooyman_2011]
  • nitrogen_fixing (categorical): non_nitrogen_fixer (1) [sources: Metcalfe_2009]
  • root_structure (categorical): mycorrhizal (1) [sources: Metcalfe_2009]
  • pollination_syndrome (categorical): butterfly (1); fly (1) [sources: Metcalfe_2009; Wells_2012]
  • dispersal_syndrome (categorical): endozoochory (3) [sources: Butler_2004; Metcalfe_2009; NHNSW_2016]
  • dispersers (categorical): birds (2); cassowaries (1); mammals (1); vertebrates (1) [sources: Butler_2004; Cooper_2013; Wells_2012]
  • flowering_time (categorical): yyyynnnnnnny (1); yyyyynnnnnny (1) [sources: Cooper_2013; NHNSW_2014_2]
  • seedbank_location (categorical): none (1); soil_seedbank (1) [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_stem_buds (1) [sources: Crowley_2007]
seed morphology
  • seed_dry_mass (numerical): 48.76 mg (34.04-65 mg) [sources: Kew_2019_1; Metcalfe_2009]
  • seed_length (numerical): 6 mm (5-7 mm) [sources: Cooper_2013; Kooyman_2011]
  • seed_width (numerical): 3.75 mm (3-5 mm) [sources: Butler_2004; Kooyman_2011]
  • seed_shape (categorical): ovoid_elongated (1) [sources: ABRS_2023]
stem morphology
  • wood_density (numerical): 0.48 mg/mm3 (0.45-0.51 mg/mm3) [sources: Wells_2012]
whole plant morphology

Sources

dataset_idn_traitsn_recordsreference
Wells_20122255J. A. Wells. “Phylogeny and inter-relations of ecological traits and seed dispersal in rainforest plants: Exploring aspects of functional diversity in primary and secondary rainforests in Australia's Wet Tropics.”. PhD. University of Queensland, 2012.
ABRS_20231622Australian Biological Resources Study. Flora of Australia, Australian Biological Resources Study, Canberra.. accessed on 14 September, 2022.. 2023. url: http://www.ausflora.org.au.
Metcalfe_20091717E. 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_20241115N. 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/.
Cooper_20131013W. Cooper and W. T. Cooper. Australian rainforest fruits. CSIRO Publishing, 2013, p. 272.
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.
NHNSW_2014_2810Royal Botanic Gardens Sydney. PLantNET: NSW flora online. 2014. url: http://plantnet.rbgsyd.nsw.gov.au/.
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.
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.
ABRS_202233Australian Biological Resources Study. Flora of Australia, Australian Biological Resources Study, Canberra.. accessed on 14 September, 2022.. 2022. url: http://www.ausflora.org.au.
Gallagher_201233R. V. Gallagher and M. R. Leishman. “A global analysis of trait variation and evolution in climbing plants”. Journal of Biogeography 39.10 (2012), pp. 1757-1771. doi: 10.1111/j.1365-2699.2012.02773.x.
Crowley_200722G. Crowley, M. Gardener, and M. Marrinan. Tropical savannas fire response database. 2007. url: [www.landmanager.org.au](www.landmanager.org.au).
Kew_2019_112Royal Botanic Gardens Kew. Seed Information Database (SID) and Seed Bank Database. 2019. url: http://data.kew.org/sid/.
McCarthy_201722J. K. McCarthy, J. M. Dwyer, and K. Mokany. “A regional-scale assessment of using metabolic scaling theory to predict ecosystem properties”. Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences 286.1915 (2019), p. 20192221. doi: 10.1098/rspb.2019.2221.
NHNSW_201622National Herbarium of NSW. Trait measurements for NSW rainforest species from PLantNET. 2016. url: http://plantnet.rbgsyd.nsw.gov.au/.
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.
Hyland_200311B. P. M. Hyland, T. Whiffin, D. Christophel, B. Gray, and R. W. Elick. Australian tropical rain forest plants trees, shrubs and vines. CSIRO Publishing, 2003. ISBN: 0643068724.
Wenk_202311E. Wenk. “Unpublished data: Australian plant life history dataset, University of New South Wales, Sydney”. 2023.