AusTraits

Polycarpon tetraphyllum

Explore the data for this taxon in the portal

Family Caryophyllaceae

Taxonomy: Polycarpon tetraphyllum (L.) L.

Synonyms: 7 (APC 2026-07-30)
  • Mollugo tetraphylla L. (nomenclatural synonym)
  • Polycarpon alsinaefolium DC. (taxonomic synonym)
  • Polycarpon alsinifolium DC. (taxonomic synonym)
  • Polycarpon diphyllum Cav. (nomenclatural synonym)
  • Polycarpon tetraphyllum var. alsinaefolium Arcang. (taxonomic synonym)
  • Polycarpon tetraphyllum var. alsinifolium Arcang. (taxonomic synonym)
  • Polycarpon tetraphyllum var. diphyllum (Cav.) DC. (taxonomic synonym)

Distribution (APC): WA (naturalised), NT (naturalised), SA (naturalised), Qld (naturalised), NSW (naturalised), LHI (naturalised), NI (naturalised), ACT (naturalised), Vic (naturalised), Tas (naturalised)

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

Traits

Top source datasets: ABRS_2022 (3), ABRS_2023 (15), Doherty_2021 (3), Dwyer_2017 (2), Kubiak_2009 (5), Morgan_2011_1 (5), NHNSW_2014_2 (4), NHNSW_2022 (3), NHNSW_2023 (10), NSWFRD_2014 (2), NTH_2022 (4), NTH_2023 (4), RBGV_2022 (3), RBGV_2023 (15), SAH_2014 (1), SAH_2022 (4), SAH_2023 (12), Standish_2019 (6), Stephens_2023 (1), Tsakalos_2020 (15), WAH_2022_2 (4), WAH_2023_2 (2), Wenk_2022 (2), Wenk_2023 (1). See below for a full list of sources.
Summary: AusTraits contains 41 traits from 126 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): fire_killed (4) [sources: Doherty_2021; Kubiak_2009; NSWFRD_2014; Standish_2019]
flower morphology
  • flower_colour (categorical): white_cream (1) [sources: NHNSW_2014_2]
fruit morphology
  • fruit_length (numerical): 2 mm (2-2 mm) [sources: ABRS_2023; RBGV_2023]
  • fruit_type (categorical): capsule (5) [sources: ABRS_2023; NHNSW_2023; NTH_2023; RBGV_2023; SAH_2023]
  • fruit_fleshiness (categorical): dry (1) [sources: Tsakalos_2020]
  • fruit_dehiscence (categorical): dehiscent (5) [sources: ABRS_2023; NHNSW_2023; NTH_2023; RBGV_2023; SAH_2023]
leaf morphology
  • leaf_length (numerical): 14.12 mm (4-25 mm) [sources: ABRS_2023; NHNSW_2023; RBGV_2023; SAH_2023]
  • leaf_width (numerical): 6.88 mm (2-10 mm) [sources: ABRS_2023; NHNSW_2023; RBGV_2023; SAH_2023]
  • leaf_mass_per_area (numerical): 27.13 g/m2 (27.13-27.13 g/m2) [sources: Dwyer_2017]
  • leaf_shape (categorical): deltate (1); oblong (2); obovate (4); ovate (1); spathulate (4) [sources: ABRS_2023; NHNSW_2023; RBGV_2023; SAH_2023]
  • leaf_margin (categorical): entire (5) [sources: ABRS_2023; NHNSW_2023; RBGV_2023; SAH_2023; Tsakalos_2020]
  • leaf_compoundness (categorical): simple (5) [sources: ABRS_2023; NHNSW_2023; RBGV_2023; SAH_2023; Tsakalos_2020]
  • leaf_lamina_posture (categorical): flat (2) [sources: SAH_2023; Tsakalos_2020]
  • leaf_glaucousness (categorical): not_glaucous (2) [sources: Tsakalos_2020]
  • leaf_hairs_adult_leaves (categorical): glabrous (1) [sources: Tsakalos_2020]
  • leaf_phyllotaxis (categorical): opposite (1) [sources: NHNSW_2014_2]
  • plant_photosynthetic_organ (categorical): leaf (6) [sources: ABRS_2023; NHNSW_2023; NTH_2023; RBGV_2023; SAH_2023; Tsakalos_2020]
life history
  • photosynthetic_pathway (categorical): c3 (1) [sources: Tsakalos_2020]
  • plant_growth_form (categorical): herb (9) [sources: ABRS_2022; NHNSW_2022; NSWFRD_2014; NTH_2022; RBGV_2022; SAH_2022; Standish_2019; WAH_2022_2; Wenk_2022]
  • life_form (categorical): therophyte (1) [sources: Morgan_2011_1]
  • life_history (categorical): annual (9); biennial (4); perennial (2) [sources: ABRS_2022; Morgan_2011_1; NHNSW_2022; NTH_2022; RBGV_2022; SAH_2022; Standish_2019; WAH_2022_2; Wenk_2023]
  • woodiness_detailed (categorical): herbaceous (8) [sources: ABRS_2022; NHNSW_2022; NTH_2022; RBGV_2022; SAH_2022; Tsakalos_2020; WAH_2022_2; Wenk_2022]
  • stem_growth_habit (categorical): erect (3); prostrate (2); spreading (2) [sources: NTH_2022; SAH_2022; Tsakalos_2020; WAH_2022_2]
  • nitrogen_fixing (categorical): non_nitrogen_fixer (1) [sources: Standish_2019]
  • root_structure (categorical): non_mycorrhizal (1) [sources: Standish_2019]
  • parasitic (categorical): not_parasitic (1) [sources: Tsakalos_2020]
  • pollination_syndrome (categorical): insect (1); wind (1) [sources: Stephens_2023]
  • dispersal_syndrome (categorical): barochory (1) [sources: Morgan_2011_1]
  • flowering_time (categorical): ynnnnnnnyyyy (1); ynnnnnnyyyyy (1) [sources: NHNSW_2014_2; Tsakalos_2020]
  • seedbank_location (categorical): soil_seedbank (2) [sources: Doherty_2021; Standish_2019]
  • vegetative_reproduction_ability (categorical): not_vegetative (2) [sources: Morgan_2011_1; NHNSW_2014_2]
  • bud_bank_location (categorical): none (1) [sources: Doherty_2021]
seed morphology
  • seed_length (numerical): 0.5 mm (0.4-0.6 mm) [sources: ABRS_2023; RBGV_2023; SAH_2023]
  • seed_shape (categorical): polyhedral (1) [sources: SAH_2023]
whole plant morphology

Sources

dataset_idn_traitsn_recordsreference
ABRS_20231215Australian Biological Resources Study. Flora of Australia, Australian Biological Resources Study, Canberra.. accessed on 14 September, 2022.. 2023. url: http://www.ausflora.org.au.
RBGV_20231215VicFlora. Flora of Victoria, Royal Botanic Gardens Victoria. accessed on 6 May, 2022.. 2023. url: https://vicflora.rbg.vic.gov.au/.
Tsakalos_20201415J. 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.
SAH_20231212S. 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/.
NHNSW_2023810N. 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/.
Standish_201966R. Standish. “Unpublished data: Jarrah forest, Murdoch University”. 2019.
Kubiak_200945P. J. Kubiak. “Fire responses of bushland plants after the January 1994 wildfires in northern Sydney”. Cunninghamia 11.1 (2009), pp. 131-165.
Morgan_2011_155J. Morgan. “Unpublished data: Grassy woodland traits, La Trobe University”. 2011.
NHNSW_2014_244Royal Botanic Gardens Sydney. PLantNET: NSW flora online. 2014. url: http://plantnet.rbgsyd.nsw.gov.au/.
NTH_202244D. 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/.
NTH_202344D. 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/.
SAH_202244S. 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_244Western Australian Herbarium. Florabase—the Western Australian Flora.. accessed on 14 September, 2022.. 2022. url: https://florabase.dpaw.wa.gov.au/.
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.
Doherty_202133M. 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.
NHNSW_202233N. 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_202233VicFlora. Flora of Victoria, Royal Botanic Gardens Victoria. accessed on 6 May, 2022.. 2022. url: https://vicflora.rbg.vic.gov.au/.
Dwyer_201722J. M. Dwyer and D. C. Laughlin. “Constraints on trait combinations explain climatic drivers of biodiversity: The importance of trait covariance in community assembly”. Ecology Letters 20.7 (2017), pp. 872-882. doi: 10.1111/ele.12781.
NSWFRD_201422B. 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.
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.
SAH_201411J. P. Jessop and H. R. Toelken. Flora of South Australia, 4th edition, 4 vols. Electronic version curated by J. Kellermann, State Herbarium of South Australia.. Government Printer, Adelaide, 1986.
Stephens_202311R. E. Stephens, R. V. Gallagher, L. Dun, W. Cornwell, and H. Sauquet. “Insect pollination for most of angiosperm evolutionary history”. New Phytologist 240.2 (2023), pp. 880-891. ISSN: 1469-8137. doi: 10.1111/nph.18993.
Wenk_202311E. Wenk. “Unpublished data: Australian plant life history dataset, University of New South Wales, Sydney”. 2023.