AusTraits

Polyscias australiana

Explore the data for this taxon in the portal

Family Araliaceae

Taxonomy: Polyscias australiana (F.Muell.) Philipson

Synonyms: 6 (APC 2026-07-30)
  • Cissodendron australianum F.Muell. (nomenclatural synonym)
  • Hedera australiana F.Muell. (nomenclatural synonym)
  • Irvingia australiana (F.Muell.) F.Muell. (nomenclatural synonym)
  • Kissodendron australianum (F.Muell.) Seem. (nomenclatural synonym)
  • Kissodendron australianum (F.Muell.) Seem. var. australianum (nomenclatural synonym)
  • Kissodendron australianum var. furfuraceum C.T.White (taxonomic synonym)

Distribution (APC): NT, Qld

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

Traits

Top source datasets: ATRP_2020 (1), Cheesman_2020 (12), Clarke_2015 (3), Cooper_2013 (14), Crowley_2007 (2), Falster_2005_1 (8), Gross_2005 (4), Grubb_1996 (2), Ilic_2000 (3), Kanowski_2000 (112), Kew_2019_1 (2), Kooyman_2011 (13), Lusk_2012 (10), Metcalfe_2009 (18), RussellSmith_2012 (4), Sjostrom_2006 (4), Tng_2013 (6), Wells_2012 (174), Wenk_2022 (2), Wenk_2023 (1), Williams_2012 (3), Wright_2000 (10). See below for a full list of sources.
Summary: AusTraits contains 90 traits from 408 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); partial_resprouting (1); resprouts (3) [sources: Clarke_2015; Crowley_2007; Metcalfe_2009; RussellSmith_2012; Williams_2012]
  • post_fire_recruitment (categorical): post_fire_recruitment (2) [sources: Clarke_2015; Williams_2012]
flower morphology
  • sex_type (categorical): hermaphrodite (2) [sources: Gross_2005; Sjostrom_2006]
fruit morphology
  • fruit_length (numerical): 7.5 mm (5-10 mm) [sources: Cooper_2013]
  • fruit_width (numerical): 7 mm (5-9 mm) [sources: Cooper_2013]
  • fruit_type (categorical): drupe (4) [sources: Cooper_2013; Gross_2005; Sjostrom_2006; Wright_2000]
  • fruit_fleshiness (categorical): fleshy (6) [sources: Cooper_2013; Gross_2005; Metcalfe_2009; Sjostrom_2006; Wells_2012; Wright_2000]
  • fruit_dehiscence (categorical): indehiscent (4) [sources: Cooper_2013; Gross_2005; Sjostrom_2006; Wright_2000]
leaf morphology
  • leaf_area (numerical): 7556.6 mm2 (2464.81-15840 mm2) [sources: Cheesman_2020; Falster_2005_1; Kanowski_2000; Metcalfe_2009; Tng_2013; Wells_2012]
  • leaflet_area (numerical): 7531.22 mm2 (7002.4-7698.38 mm2) [sources: Wells_2012]
  • leaf_length (numerical): 155 mm (70-240 mm) [sources: Kooyman_2011]
  • leaf_width (numerical): 75 mm (40-110 mm) [sources: Kooyman_2011]
  • leaf_dry_mass (numerical): 164.53 mg (76.65-205.69 mg) [sources: Wells_2012]
  • leaf_mass_per_area (numerical): 57.05 g/m2 (28.92-79.37 g/m2) [sources: Cheesman_2020; Falster_2005_1; Kanowski_2000; Lusk_2012; Tng_2013; Wells_2012]
  • leaf_area_ratio (numerical): 12.83 mm2/mg (12.83-12.83 mm2/mg) [sources: Lusk_2012]
  • leaf_dry_matter_content (numerical): 0.27 g/g (0.18-0.33 g/g) [sources: Wells_2012]
  • leaf_lobation (categorical): unlobed (1) [sources: Kooyman_2011]
  • leaf_compoundness (categorical): compound (1) [sources: Kooyman_2011]
life history
  • photosynthetic_pathway (categorical): c3 (1) [sources: Metcalfe_2009]
  • plant_growth_form (categorical): shrub (3); tree (7) [sources: ATRP_2020; Cheesman_2020; Cooper_2013; Grubb_1996; Kooyman_2011; Metcalfe_2009; Wells_2012; Wenk_2022]
  • life_form (categorical): phanerophyte (1) [sources: Metcalfe_2009]
  • life_history (categorical): perennial (2) [sources: Metcalfe_2009; Wenk_2023]
  • woodiness_detailed (categorical): woody (1) [sources: Wenk_2022]
  • 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): bee (1); fly (1) [sources: Metcalfe_2009; Wells_2012]
  • dispersal_syndrome (categorical): endozoochory (1) [sources: Metcalfe_2009]
  • dispersers (categorical): birds (2) [sources: Cooper_2013; Wells_2012]
  • flowering_time (categorical): yyyyynyyyyyy (1) [sources: Cooper_2013]
  • seedbank_location (categorical): soil_seedbank (1) [sources: Metcalfe_2009]
  • seedbank_longevity_class (categorical): persistent (1); short_persistent (1) [sources: Metcalfe_2009; RussellSmith_2012]
  • clonal_spread_mechanism (categorical): non_clonal (1) [sources: Metcalfe_2009]
  • bud_bank_location (categorical): basal_stem_buds (3) [sources: Clarke_2015; Crowley_2007; Williams_2012]
nutrient and stable isotope
  • leaf_N_per_dry_mass (numerical): 20.56 mg/g (15.4-23.09 mg/g) [sources: Cheesman_2020; Falster_2005_1; Kanowski_2000]
  • leaf_P_per_dry_mass (numerical): 1.29 mg/g (1.19-1.53 mg/g) [sources: Kanowski_2000]
  • leaf_delta13C (numerical): -34.62 {delta}[ppth] (-35.69--33.55 {delta}[ppth]) [sources: Cheesman_2020; Tng_2013]
seed morphology
  • seed_dry_mass (numerical): 7.47 mg (5.7-11 mg) [sources: Falster_2005_1; Grubb_1996; Kew_2019_1]
  • seed_length (numerical): 6 mm (5-7 mm) [sources: Cooper_2013; Kooyman_2011]
  • seed_width (numerical): 2.5 mm (2-3 mm) [sources: Kooyman_2011]
stem morphology
  • wood_density (numerical): 0.44 mg/mm3 (0.3-0.5 mg/mm3) [sources: Falster_2005_1; Ilic_2000; Kooyman_2011; Metcalfe_2009; Tng_2013; Wells_2012]
  • huber_value (numerical): 0 mm2{sapwood}/mm2{leaf} (0-0 mm2{sapwood}/mm2{leaf}) [sources: Falster_2005_1]
  • stem_vessel_diameter (numerical): 15.8 um (15-16.6 um) [sources: Lusk_2012]
whole plant morphology

Sources

dataset_idn_traitsn_recordsreference
Wells_201224174J. 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.
Kanowski_200023112J. Kanowski. “Ecological determinants of the distribution and abundance of the folivorous marsupials endemic to the rainforests of the Atherton uplands, north Queensland.”. PhD. James Cook University, Townsville, 1999.
Metcalfe_20091818E. 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.
Cooper_20131114W. Cooper and W. T. Cooper. Australian rainforest fruits. CSIRO Publishing, 2013, p. 272.
Kooyman_2011913R. 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.
Cheesman_20201212A. 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.
Lusk_2012610C. H. Lusk, J. W. G. Kelly, and S. M. Gleason. “Light requirements of Australian tropical vs. cool-temperate rainforest tree species show different relationships with seedling growth and functional traits”. Annals of Botany 111 (2012), pp. 479-488. doi: 10.1093/aob/mcs289.
Wright_20001010I. 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.
Falster_2005_178D. S. Falster and M. Westoby. “Alternative height strategies among 45 dicot rain forest species from tropical Queensland, Australia”. Journal of Ecology 93 (2005), pp. 521-535. doi: 10.1111/j.0022-0477.2005.00992.x.
Tng_201366D. Y. P. Tng, G. J. Jordan, and D. M. J. S. Bowman. “Plant traits demonstrate that temperate and tropical giant Eucalypt forests are ecologically convergent with rainforest not savanna”. PLoS ONE 8 (2013), p. e84378. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0084378.
Gross_200544C. L. Gross. “A comparison of the sexual systems in the trees from the Australian tropics with other tropical biomes-more monoecy but why?”. American Journal of Botany 92.6 (2005), pp. 907-919. doi: 10.3732/ajb.92.6.907.
RussellSmith_201244J. Russell-Smith, M. R. Gardener, C. Brock, K. Brennan, C. P. Yates, and B. Grace. “Fire persistence traits can be used to predict vegetation response to changing fire regimes at expansive landscape scales - an Australian example”. Journal of Biogeography 39 (2012), pp. 1657-1668. doi: 10.1111/j.1365-2699.2012.02714.x.
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.
Clarke_201533P. J. Clarke, M. J. Lawes, B. P. Murphy, J. Russell-Smith, C. E. Nano, R. Bradstock, N. J. Enright, J. B. Fontaine, C. R. Gosper, I. Radford, J. J. Midgley, and R. M. Gunton. “A synthesis of postfire recovery traits of woody plants in Australian ecosystems”. Science of The Total Environment 534 (2015), pp. 31-42. doi: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2015.04.002.
Ilic_200013J. Ilic, D. Boland, M. McDonald, D. G, and P. Blakemore. Woody density phase 1 - State of knowledge. National Carbon Accounting System. Technical Report 18. Tech. rep. Australian Greenhouse Office, Canberra, Australia, 2000.
Williams_201233P. R. Williams, M. Parsons, R. Jensen, and C. Tran. “Mechanisms of rainforest persistence and recruitment in frequently burnt wet tropical eucalypt forests”. Austral Ecology 37.2 (2012), pp. 268-275. ISSN: 1442-9993. doi: 10.1111/j.1442-9993.2011.02271.x.
Crowley_200722G. Crowley, M. Gardener, and M. Marrinan. Tropical savannas fire response database. 2007. url: [www.landmanager.org.au](www.landmanager.org.au).
Grubb_199622P. J. Grubb and D. J. Metcalfe. “Adaptation and inertia in the Australian tropical lowland rain-forest flora: Contradictory trends in intergeneric and intrageneric comparisons of seed size in relation to light demand”. Functional Ecology 10 (1996), pp. 512-520. doi: 10.2307/2389944.
Kew_2019_112Royal Botanic Gardens Kew. Seed Information Database (SID) and Seed Bank Database. 2019. url: http://data.kew.org/sid/.
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.
Wenk_202311E. Wenk. “Unpublished data: Australian plant life history dataset, University of New South Wales, Sydney”. 2023.