Phytolacca octandra

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Family Phytolaccaceae

Taxonomy: Phytolacca octandra L.

Synonyms: none listed in the APC 2026-07-30

Distribution (APC): WA (naturalised), Qld (naturalised), NSW (naturalised), NI (naturalised), ACT (formerly naturalised), Vic (naturalised)

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

Traits

Top source datasets: ABRS_2022 (2), ABRS_2023 (15), Cooper_2013 (14), Fonseca_2000 (5), Kubiak_2009 (5), Mesaglio_2022 (1), NHNSW_2014_2 (3), NHNSW_2022 (3), NHNSW_2023 (18), NSWFRD_2014 (3), RBGV_2022 (4), RBGV_2023 (15), SAH_2022 (3), SAH_2023 (6), Standish_2019 (6), Tsakalos_2020 (18), WAH_2022_1 (3), WAH_2022_2 (4), WAH_2023_2 (2), Wenk_2022 (2), Wenk_2023 (1), Yang_2023 (1). See below for a full list of sources.
Summary: AusTraits contains 47 traits from 134 records in 22 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 (1); resprouts (2) [sources: NSWFRD_2014; Standish_2019; Tsakalos_2020]
post_fire_recruitment (categorical): post_fire_recruitment (2) [sources: NSWFRD_2014; Yang_2023]

flower morphology

sex_type (categorical): dioecious (1) [sources: RBGV_2022]

fruit morphology

fruit_length (numerical): 7 mm (4-10 mm) [sources: Cooper_2013]
fruit_width (numerical): 6.33 mm (4-10 mm) [sources: Cooper_2013; NHNSW_2023; RBGV_2023]
fruit_height (numerical): 6 mm (4-9 mm) [sources: NHNSW_2023; RBGV_2023]
fruit_type (categorical): berry (4) [sources: ABRS_2023; Cooper_2013; NHNSW_2023; RBGV_2023]
fruit_fleshiness (categorical): fleshy (2) [sources: Cooper_2013; Tsakalos_2020]
fruit_dehiscence (categorical): indehiscent (1) [sources: Cooper_2013]
fruit_colour (categorical): black (3); purple (1); red (1) [sources: ABRS_2023; NHNSW_2023; RBGV_2023]

leaf morphology

leaf_area (numerical): 864.5 mm2 (864.5-864.5 mm2) [sources: Fonseca_2000]
leaf_length (numerical): 111.25 mm (40-210 mm) [sources: ABRS_2023; NHNSW_2023; RBGV_2023; SAH_2023]
leaf_width (numerical): 43.62 mm (10-90 mm) [sources: Fonseca_2000; ABRS_2023; NHNSW_2023; RBGV_2023]
leaf_dry_mass (numerical): 39 mg (39-39 mg) [sources: Fonseca_2000]
petiole_length (numerical): 3.75 cm (1-5 cm) [sources: ABRS_2023; NHNSW_2023]
leaf_mass_per_area (numerical): 45.66 g/m2 (45.66-45.66 g/m2) [sources: Fonseca_2000]
leaf_shape (categorical): elliptical (3); lanceolate (3); narrowly_ovate (1); ovate (2) [sources: ABRS_2023; NHNSW_2023; RBGV_2023; SAH_2023]
leaf_base_shape (categorical): acute (1) [sources: ABRS_2023]
leaf_margin (categorical): entire (3) [sources: ABRS_2023; NHNSW_2023; Tsakalos_2020]
leaf_compoundness (categorical): simple (4) [sources: ABRS_2023; NHNSW_2023; RBGV_2023; Tsakalos_2020]
leaf_lamina_posture (categorical): flat (1) [sources: Tsakalos_2020]
leaf_glaucousness (categorical): not_glaucous (2) [sources: Tsakalos_2020]
leaf_hairs_adult_leaves (categorical): glabrous (1) [sources: Tsakalos_2020]
leaf_phyllotaxis (categorical): alternate (3) [sources: ABRS_2023; NHNSW_2014_2; RBGV_2023]
plant_photosynthetic_organ (categorical): leaf (5) [sources: ABRS_2023; NHNSW_2023; RBGV_2023; SAH_2023; Tsakalos_2020]

life history

photosynthetic_pathway (categorical): c3 (1) [sources: Tsakalos_2020]
plant_growth_form (categorical): herb (11); shrub (4) [sources: ABRS_2022; Cooper_2013; Fonseca_2000; NHNSW_2022; NSWFRD_2014; RBGV_2022; SAH_2022; Standish_2019; WAH_2022_1; WAH_2022_2; Wenk_2022]
life_history (categorical): perennial (8) [sources: NHNSW_2022; RBGV_2022; SAH_2022; Standish_2019; Tsakalos_2020; WAH_2022_1; WAH_2022_2; Wenk_2023]
woodiness_detailed (categorical): herbaceous (7); semi_woody (1); woody (1); woody_base (3); woody_root (2) [sources: ABRS_2022; NHNSW_2022; RBGV_2022; SAH_2022; Tsakalos_2020; WAH_2022_1; WAH_2022_2; Wenk_2022]
stem_growth_habit (categorical): erect (2); prostrate (1); spreading (1) [sources: Tsakalos_2020; WAH_2022_2]
nitrogen_fixing (categorical): non_nitrogen_fixer (1) [sources: Standish_2019]
root_structure (categorical): arbuscular_mycorrhizal (2) [sources: Standish_2019; Tsakalos_2020]
parasitic (categorical): not_parasitic (1) [sources: Tsakalos_2020]
dispersers (categorical): birds (1) [sources: Cooper_2013]
flowering_time (categorical): nnnnnnnnnnyn (1); yynnnnnnnnyy (1); yynnnnnnyyyy (1); yyyynnnyyyyy (1) [sources: Cooper_2013; Mesaglio_2022; NHNSW_2014_2; Tsakalos_2020]
seedbank_location (categorical): soil_seedbank (1) [sources: Standish_2019]
vegetative_reproduction_ability (categorical): not_vegetative (1) [sources: NHNSW_2014_2]

seed morphology

seed_length (numerical): 2 mm (2-2 mm) [sources: ABRS_2023; Cooper_2013]
seed_shape (categorical): ovoid_flattened (1); reniform (1) [sources: ABRS_2023; SAH_2023]

whole plant morphology

plant_height (numerical): 1.76 m (0.4-2 m) [sources: ABRS_2023; Cooper_2013; NHNSW_2023; RBGV_2023; SAH_2023; WAH_2023_2]
plant_physical_defence_structures (categorical): absent (1) [sources: Tsakalos_2020]

Sources

dataset_id	n_traits	n_records	reference
NHNSW_2023	12	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/.
Tsakalos_2020	17	18	J. L. Tsakalos, M. Renton, F. Riviera, E. J. Veneklaas, M. P. Dobrowolski, and L. Mucina. “Trait-based formal definition of plant functional types and functional communities in the multi-species and multi-traits context”. Ecological Complexity 40 (2019), p. 100787. doi: 10.1016/j.ecocom.2019.100787.
ABRS_2023	15	15	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	11	15	VicFlora. Flora of Victoria, Royal Botanic Gardens Victoria. accessed on 6 May, 2022.. 2023. url: https://vicflora.rbg.vic.gov.au/.
Cooper_2013	11	14	W. Cooper and W. T. Cooper. Australian rainforest fruits. CSIRO Publishing, 2013, p. 272.
SAH_2023	5	6	S. 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/.
Standish_2019	6	6	R. Standish. “Unpublished data: Jarrah forest, Murdoch University”. 2019.
Fonseca_2000	5	5	C. 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.
Kubiak_2009	4	5	P. J. Kubiak. “Fire responses of bushland plants after the January 1994 wildfires in northern Sydney”. Cunninghamia 11.1 (2009), pp. 131-165.
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/.
WAH_2022_2	4	4	Western Australian Herbarium. Florabase—the Western Australian Flora.. accessed on 14 September, 2022.. 2022. url: https://florabase.dpaw.wa.gov.au/.
NHNSW_2014_2	3	3	Royal Botanic Gardens Sydney. PLantNET: NSW flora online. 2014. url: http://plantnet.rbgsyd.nsw.gov.au/.
NHNSW_2022	3	3	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/.
NSWFRD_2014	3	3	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.
SAH_2022	3	3	S. 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_1	3	3	Western Australian Herbarium. Florabase—the Western Australian Flora.. accessed on 14 September, 2022.. 2022. url: https://florabase.dpaw.wa.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.
WAH_2023_2	1	2	Western Australian Herbarium. Florabase—the Western Australian Flora.. accessed on 14 September, 2022.. 2023. url: https://florabase.dpaw.wa.gov.au/.
Wenk_2022	2	2	E. Wenk. “Unpublished data: Australian plant growth forms dataset”. 2022.
Mesaglio_2022	1	1	T. Mesaglio. “Unpublished data: Comprehensive biodiversity survey of Wategora Reserve and Everley Park along Duck River, western Sydney”. 2022. doi: 10.32942/X29886.
Wenk_2023	1	1	E. Wenk. “Unpublished data: Australian plant life history dataset, University of New South Wales, Sydney”. 2023.
Yang_2023	1	1	S. Yang. “Unpublished data: Fire response traits scored from national and state floras and the taxonomic literature, University of New South Wales”. 2023.