Mucuna gigantea

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Family Fabaceae

Taxonomy: Mucuna gigantea (Willd.) DC.

Synonyms: 2 (APC 2026-07-30)

Dolichos gigantea Willd. (nomenclatural synonym)
Stizolobium giganteum (Willd.) Spreng. (nomenclatural synonym)

Distribution (APC): WA, NT, Qld, NSW, LHI

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

Traits

Top source datasets: Apgaua_2017 (12), Brock_1993 (10), Butler_2004 (5), Cheesman_2020 (12), Cooper_2013 (12), Gallagher_2012 (3), Kew_2019_1 (3), Kew_2019_5 (2), Kooyman_2011 (10), Metcalfe_2009 (14), NHNSW_2014_2 (3), NHNSW_2016 (1), NHNSW_2022 (1), NHNSW_2023 (19), NTH_2014 (3), NTH_2022 (3), NTH_2023 (19), Sjostrom_2006 (4), WAH_2022_2 (2), Wells_2012 (11), Wenk_2022 (2), Wenk_2023 (1), Wright_2000 (3), eFLOWER_Dun_2022 (31). See below for a full list of sources.
Summary: AusTraits contains 100 traits from 186 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): resprouts (1) [sources: Metcalfe_2009]

flower morphology

flower_colour (categorical): green (1) [sources: NHNSW_2014_2]
sex_type (categorical): hermaphrodite (1) [sources: Sjostrom_2006]

fruit morphology

fruit_length (numerical): 117.5 mm (60-180 mm) [sources: Cooper_2013; NHNSW_2023; NTH_2023]
fruit_width (numerical): 42.33 mm (30-57 mm) [sources: Cooper_2013; NHNSW_2023; NTH_2023]
fruit_type (categorical): legume (4) [sources: Cooper_2013; NHNSW_2023; NTH_2023; Sjostrom_2006]
fruit_fleshiness (categorical): dry (4) [sources: Cooper_2013; Metcalfe_2009; Sjostrom_2006; Wells_2012]
fruit_dehiscence (categorical): dehiscent (4) [sources: Cooper_2013; NHNSW_2023; NTH_2023; Sjostrom_2006]
fruit_colour (categorical): black (2); brown (1) [sources: NHNSW_2023; NTH_2023]

leaf morphology

leaf_area (numerical): 6030 mm2 (4620-7440 mm2) [sources: Cheesman_2020; Metcalfe_2009]
leaf_length (numerical): 124 mm (67-160 mm) [sources: Brock_1993; Kooyman_2011; NHNSW_2023; NTH_2023]
leaf_width (numerical): 58.5 mm (20-90 mm) [sources: Brock_1993; NHNSW_2023; NTH_2023]
petiole_length (numerical): 6 cm (1-11 cm) [sources: NHNSW_2023]
leaf_mass_per_area (numerical): 19.9 g/m2 (19.9-19.9 g/m2) [sources: Cheesman_2020]
leaf_shape (categorical): elliptical (1); lanceolate (1); ovate (1) [sources: Brock_1993; NHNSW_2023]
leaf_base_shape (categorical): rounded (1) [sources: NTH_2023]
leaf_margin (categorical): entire (1) [sources: NHNSW_2023]
leaf_lobation (categorical): unlobed (1) [sources: Kooyman_2011]
leaf_compoundness (categorical): compound (3); simple (1) [sources: Brock_1993; 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): climber (2); climber_herbaceous (2); climber_woody (8) [sources: Apgaua_2017; Brock_1993; Butler_2004; Cheesman_2020; Cooper_2013; Kooyman_2011; Metcalfe_2009; NHNSW_2022; NTH_2022; WAH_2022_2; Wells_2012; Wenk_2022]
life_form (categorical): phanerophyte (1) [sources: Metcalfe_2009]
life_history (categorical): perennial (4) [sources: Brock_1993; Metcalfe_2009; NTH_2022; Wenk_2023]
plant_growth_substrate (categorical): aquatic (1) [sources: WAH_2022_2]
woodiness_detailed (categorical): woody (2) [sources: NTH_2022; Wenk_2022]
plant_climbing_mechanism (categorical): twining (1) [sources: Gallagher_2012]
stem_growth_habit (categorical): climbing (1) [sources: NHNSW_2014_2]
leaf_phenology (categorical): deciduous (2); evergreen (1) [sources: Brock_1993; Kooyman_2011; NTH_2014]
nitrogen_fixing (categorical): nitrogen_fixer (1) [sources: Metcalfe_2009]
pollination_syndrome (categorical): bee (2) [sources: Metcalfe_2009; Wells_2012]
dispersal_syndrome (categorical): barochory (2); endozoochory (1); hydrochory (3) [sources: Butler_2004; Gallagher_2012; Kew_2019_5; Metcalfe_2009; NHNSW_2016]
dispersers (categorical): vertebrates (1); wind (1) [sources: Butler_2004; Wells_2012]
flowering_time (categorical): nnnnnnnnnnyy (1); nnnnnnnnyyyy (1); nnnyyyyyyyyn (1); nyyyyyyyyynn (1) [sources: Brock_1993; Cooper_2013; NHNSW_2014_2; NTH_2014]
seedbank_longevity_class (categorical): transient (1) [sources: Metcalfe_2009]
clonal_spread_mechanism (categorical): non_clonal (1) [sources: Metcalfe_2009]

nutrient and stable isotope

leaf_N_per_dry_mass (numerical): 45.96 mg/g (45.96-45.96 mg/g) [sources: Cheesman_2020]
leaf_delta13C (numerical): -30.11 {delta}[ppth] (-31.78--28.43 {delta}[ppth]) [sources: Apgaua_2017; Cheesman_2020]

seed morphology

seed_dry_mass (numerical): 3809.87 mg (2982-4700 mg) [sources: Kew_2019_1]
seed_length (numerical): 25 mm (15-35 mm) [sources: Cooper_2013; Kooyman_2011]
seed_width (numerical): 19.17 mm (13-23 mm) [sources: Butler_2004; Kooyman_2011; NTH_2023]
seed_shape (categorical): discoid (1) [sources: NHNSW_2023]

stem morphology

wood_density (numerical): 0.29 mg/mm3 (0.29-0.29 mg/mm3) [sources: Apgaua_2017]
stem_vessel_density (numerical): 1.97 {count}/mm2 (1.97-1.97 {count}/mm2) [sources: Apgaua_2017]
stem_vessel_diameter (numerical): 504.1 um (504.1-504.1 um) [sources: Apgaua_2017]
stem_vessel_lumen_fraction (numerical): 0.39 mm2/mm2 (0.39-0.39 mm2/mm2) [sources: Apgaua_2017]

whole plant morphology

plant_physical_defence_structures (categorical): absent (1) [sources: Metcalfe_2009]

Sources

dataset_id	n_traits	n_records	reference
eFLOWER_Dun_2022	25	31	L. Dun and H. Sauquet. “Unpublished: Floral traits for GAP taxa, University of New South Wales, Australia”. 2022.
NHNSW_2023	14	19	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/.
NTH_2023	13	19	D. 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/.
Metcalfe_2009	14	14	E. 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.
Apgaua_2017	11	12	D. 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.
Cheesman_2020	12	12	A. 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.
Cooper_2013	9	12	W. Cooper and W. T. Cooper. Australian rainforest fruits. CSIRO Publishing, 2013, p. 272.
Wells_2012	11	11	J. 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.
Brock_1993	8	10	J. Brock and A. Dunlop. Native plants of northern Australia. Reed New Holland, 1993. ISBN: 9781877069246.
Kooyman_2011	8	10	R. 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.
Butler_2004	5	5	D. 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.
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.
Gallagher_2012	3	3	R. 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.
Kew_2019_1	1	3	Royal Botanic Gardens Kew. Seed Information Database (SID) and Seed Bank Database. 2019. url: http://data.kew.org/sid/.
NHNSW_2014_2	3	3	Royal Botanic Gardens Sydney. PLantNET: NSW flora online. 2014. url: http://plantnet.rbgsyd.nsw.gov.au/.
NTH_2014	3	3	Northern Territory Herbarium. Flora of the Darwin Region Online. 2014. url: http://www.lrm.nt.gov.au/plants-and-animals/herbarium/darwin_flora_online.
NTH_2022	3	3	D. 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/.
Wright_2000	3	3	I. 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.
Kew_2019_5	1	2	Royal Botanic Gardens Kew. Seed dispersal data from the Seed Information Database (SID) and Seed Bank Database. 2019. url: http://data.kew.org/sid/.
WAH_2022_2	2	2	Western Australian Herbarium. Florabase—the Western Australian Flora.. accessed on 14 September, 2022.. 2022. url: https://florabase.dpaw.wa.gov.au/.
Wenk_2022	2	2	E. Wenk. “Unpublished data: Australian plant growth forms dataset”. 2022.
NHNSW_2016	1	1	National Herbarium of NSW. Trait measurements for NSW rainforest species from PLantNET. 2016. url: http://plantnet.rbgsyd.nsw.gov.au/.
NHNSW_2022	1	1	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/.
Wenk_2023	1	1	E. Wenk. “Unpublished data: Australian plant life history dataset, University of New South Wales, Sydney”. 2023.