Pellaea falcata

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Family Pteridaceae

Taxonomy: Pellaea falcata (R.Br.) Fée

Synonyms: 9 (APC 2026-07-30)

Allosorus falcatus (R.Br.) Kunze (nomenclatural synonym)
Pellaea falcata (R.Br.) Fée var. falcata (nomenclatural synonym)
Pellaea falcata var. denticulata Bonap. (taxonomic synonym)
Pellaea falcata var. normalis Domin (nomenclatural synonym)
Platyloma falcata (R.Br.) J.Sm. (nomenclatural synonym)
Platyloma falcata (R.Br.) J.Sm. var. falcata (nomenclatural synonym)
Platyloma falcata var. caudata E.J.Lowe (taxonomic synonym)
Pteris falcata R.Br. (nomenclatural synonym)
Pteris falcata R.Br. var. falcata (nomenclatural synonym)

Distribution (APC): Qld, NSW, LHI, ACT, Vic, Tas

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

Traits

Top source datasets: ABRS_2022 (2), ABRS_2023 (17), Doherty_2021 (2), Kubiak_2009 (1), Mokany_2015 (2), NHNSW_2014_2 (2), NHNSW_2023 (11), NSWFRD_2014 (7), RBGV_2022 (4), RBGV_2023 (15), Smith_1996 (85), Wenk_2022 (2), Wenk_2023 (1), White_2020 (57), Williams_2011 (11). See below for a full list of sources.
Summary: AusTraits contains 56 traits from 219 records in 15 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 (6) [sources: Doherty_2021; Kubiak_2009; NSWFRD_2014; White_2020]

leaf morphology

leaf_area (numerical): 149.61 mm2 (44.2-329 mm2) [sources: Mokany_2015; Smith_1996]
leaf_length (numerical): 314.9 mm (15-1050 mm) [sources: Smith_1996; ABRS_2023; NHNSW_2023; RBGV_2023]
leaf_width (numerical): 7.95 mm (3-12 mm) [sources: Smith_1996; ABRS_2023; NHNSW_2023; RBGV_2023]
leaf_dry_mass (numerical): 15.01 mg (13.19-18.02 mg) [sources: Smith_1996]
leaf_mass_per_area (numerical): 92.79 g/m2 (92.79-92.79 g/m2) [sources: Smith_1996]
leaf_dry_matter_content (numerical): 0.33 g/g (0.32-0.36 g/g) [sources: Smith_1996]
leaf_water_content_per_dry_mass (numerical): 2.04 g/g (1.8-2.15 g/g) [sources: Smith_1996]
leaf_shape (categorical): falcate (1); narrowly_oblong (3); narrowly_ovate (1); ovate (2) [sources: ABRS_2023; NHNSW_2023; RBGV_2023]
leaf_base_shape (categorical): cordate (2); truncate (2) [sources: ABRS_2023; RBGV_2023]
leaf_margin (categorical): entire (3); toothed_crenate (1) [sources: ABRS_2023; NHNSW_2023; RBGV_2023]
leaf_margin_posture (categorical): flat (1); undulate (1) [sources: RBGV_2023]
leaf_compoundness (categorical): compound (3) [sources: ABRS_2023; NHNSW_2023; RBGV_2023]
leaf_arrangement (categorical): crowded (1); scattered (2) [sources: ABRS_2023; RBGV_2023]
leaf_inclination_angle (numerical): 18.5 deg (5-30 deg) [sources: Smith_1996]
plant_photosynthetic_organ (categorical): leaf (3) [sources: ABRS_2023; NHNSW_2023; RBGV_2023]

life history

photosynthetic_pathway (categorical): c3 (4) [sources: White_2020; Williams_2011]
plant_growth_form (categorical): fern (7); tussock (1) [sources: ABRS_2022; NSWFRD_2014; RBGV_2022; Wenk_2022; White_2020; Williams_2011]
life_form (categorical): hemicryptophyte (1) [sources: Williams_2011]
life_history (categorical): perennial (2) [sources: RBGV_2022; Wenk_2023]
plant_growth_substrate (categorical): terrestrial (1) [sources: RBGV_2022]
woodiness_detailed (categorical): herbaceous (3) [sources: ABRS_2022; RBGV_2022; Wenk_2022]
nitrogen_fixing (categorical): non_nitrogen_fixer (4) [sources: White_2020; Williams_2011]
root_structure (categorical): non_mycorrhizal (1) [sources: Williams_2011]
parasitic (categorical): not_parasitic (3) [sources: White_2020]
pollination_syndrome (categorical): abiotic (3) [sources: White_2020]
pollination_system (categorical): abiotic (1) [sources: Williams_2011]
dispersal_syndrome (categorical): anemochory (5) [sources: NSWFRD_2014; White_2020; Williams_2011]
dispersers (categorical): wind (4) [sources: NSWFRD_2014; White_2020]
seedbank_longevity_class (categorical): transient (4) [sources: NSWFRD_2014; White_2020]
vegetative_reproduction_ability (categorical): vegetative (4) [sources: NHNSW_2014_2; White_2020]
clonal_spread_mechanism (categorical): rhizome (1) [sources: Williams_2011]
storage_organ (categorical): rhizome (3) [sources: ABRS_2023; NHNSW_2023; RBGV_2023]
bud_bank_location (categorical): bud-bearing_root (1); rhizome (1) [sources: Doherty_2021; NSWFRD_2014]

nutrient and stable isotope

leaf_N_per_dry_mass (numerical): 21.78 mg/g (21.78-21.78 mg/g) [sources: Smith_1996]
leaf_P_per_dry_mass (numerical): 2.22 mg/g (2.22-2.22 mg/g) [sources: Smith_1996]

seed morphology

seed_dry_mass (numerical): 0 mg (0-0 mg) [sources: Williams_2011]

whole plant morphology

plant_height (numerical): 1 m (1-1 m) [sources: Mokany_2015]
plant_physical_defence_structures (categorical): absent (3) [sources: White_2020]

Sources

dataset_id	n_traits	n_records	reference
Smith_1996	17	85	B. Smith. “Community-level convergence and community structure of temperate Nothofagus forests”. PhD. University of Otago, Dunedin, New Zealand, 1996. url: http://web.nateko.lu.se/personal/benjamin.smith/thesis/thesis.html.
White_2020	19	57	M. White, S. Sinclair, and D. Frood. Victorian Vital Attributes Database. database. Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning, Victoria, 2020.
ABRS_2023	9	17	Australian Biological Resources Study. Flora of Australia, Australian Biological Resources Study, Canberra.. accessed on 14 September, 2022.. 2023. url: http://www.ausflora.org.au.
RBGV_2023	10	15	VicFlora. Flora of Victoria, Royal Botanic Gardens Victoria. accessed on 6 May, 2022.. 2023. url: https://vicflora.rbg.vic.gov.au/.
NHNSW_2023	7	11	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/.
Williams_2011	11	11	R. P. Duncan, S. E. Clemants, R. T. Corlett, A. K. Hahs, M. A. McCarthy, M. J. McDonnell, M. W. Schwartz, K. Thompson, P. A. Vesk, and N. S. G. Williams. “Plant traits and extinction in urban areas: a meta-analysis of 11 cities”. Global Ecology and Biogeography 20.4 (2011), pp. 509-519. doi: 10.1111/j.1466-8238.2010.00633.x.
NSWFRD_2014	7	7	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.
RBGV_2022	4	4	VicFlora. Flora of Victoria, Royal Botanic Gardens Victoria. accessed on 6 May, 2022.. 2022. url: https://vicflora.rbg.vic.gov.au/.
ABRS_2022	2	2	Australian Biological Resources Study. Flora of Australia, Australian Biological Resources Study, Canberra.. accessed on 14 September, 2022.. 2022. url: http://www.ausflora.org.au.
Doherty_2021	2	2	M. Doherty. “Fire Severity and Plant Community Dynamics in the Australian Alps, Southeastern New South Wales”. PhD. Australian National University, 2021. url: http://hdl.handle.net/1885/224564.
Mokany_2015	2	2	K. Mokany, J. J. Thomson, A. J. J. Lynch, G. J. Jordan, and S. Ferrier. “Linking changes in community composition and function under climate change”. Ecological Applications 25.8 (2015), pp. 2132-2141. doi: 10.1890/14-2384.1.
NHNSW_2014_2	2	2	Royal Botanic Gardens Sydney. PLantNET: NSW flora online. 2014. url: http://plantnet.rbgsyd.nsw.gov.au/.
Wenk_2022	2	2	E. Wenk. “Unpublished data: Australian plant growth forms dataset”. 2022.
Kubiak_2009	1	1	P. J. Kubiak. “Fire responses of bushland plants after the January 1994 wildfires in northern Sydney”. Cunninghamia 11.1 (2009), pp. 131-165.
Wenk_2023	1	1	E. Wenk. “Unpublished data: Australian plant life history dataset, University of New South Wales, Sydney”. 2023.