Polystichum proliferum

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Family Dryopteridaceae

Taxonomy: Polystichum proliferum (R.Br.) C.Presl

Synonyms: 3 (APC 2026-07-30)

Aspidium proliferum R.Br. (nomenclatural synonym)
Hypopeltis prolifera (R.Br.) Bory (nomenclatural synonym)
Polystichum aculeatum var. proliferum (R.Br.) Domin (nomenclatural synonym)

Misapplied names: 2 (APC 2026-07-30)

Polystichum aculeatum (L.) Roth (misapplied)
Polystichum vestitum (G.Forst.) C.Presl (misapplied)

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

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

Traits

Top source datasets: ABRS_2022 (2), ABRS_2023 (15), Carey_2003 (3), Cheal_2017 (6), Doherty_2021 (2), Mokany_2015 (2), NHNSW_2022 (3), NHNSW_2023 (7), NSWFRD_2014 (2), Pickup_2021 (6), RBGV_2022 (2), RBGV_2023 (8), SAH_2023 (4), Smith_1996 (155), Wenk_2022 (2), Wenk_2023 (1), White_2020 (17), Williams_2011 (11). See below for a full list of sources.
Summary: AusTraits contains 56 traits from 248 records in 18 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): partial_resprouting (2); resprouts (4) [sources: Carey_2003; Cheal_2017; Doherty_2021; NSWFRD_2014; Pickup_2021]
post_fire_recruitment (categorical): post_fire_recruitment (2); post_fire_recruitment_absent (2) [sources: Carey_2003; Cheal_2017; Pickup_2021]

leaf morphology

leaf_area (numerical): 2228.11 mm2 (94.3-5301.44 mm2) [sources: Mokany_2015; Smith_1996]
leaf_length (numerical): 521.8 mm (2-1500 mm) [sources: Smith_1996; ABRS_2023; NHNSW_2023; RBGV_2023; SAH_2023]
leaf_width (numerical): 42.31 mm (1.5-300 mm) [sources: Smith_1996; ABRS_2023]
leaf_dry_mass (numerical): 42.86 mg (15.85-58.59 mg) [sources: Smith_1996]
leaf_mass_per_area (numerical): 62.32 g/m2 (59.87-64.77 g/m2) [sources: Smith_1996]
leaf_dry_matter_content (numerical): 0.37 g/g (0.34-0.41 g/g) [sources: Smith_1996]
leaf_water_content_per_dry_mass (numerical): 1.68 g/g (1.43-1.97 g/g) [sources: Smith_1996]
leaf_shape (categorical): linear (1); narrowly_triangular (1) [sources: SAH_2023]
leaf_margin (categorical): entire (1); toothed (2); toothed_crenate (1) [sources: ABRS_2023; NHNSW_2023; RBGV_2023]
leaf_lobation (categorical): lobed (1) [sources: RBGV_2023]
leaf_compoundness (categorical): compound (3) [sources: ABRS_2023; NHNSW_2023; RBGV_2023]
leaf_arrangement (categorical): clustered (1); crowded (1) [sources: NHNSW_2023; RBGV_2023]
leaf_inclination_angle (numerical): 11.75 deg (0-30 deg) [sources: Smith_1996]
plant_photosynthetic_organ (categorical): leaf (4) [sources: ABRS_2023; NHNSW_2023; RBGV_2023; SAH_2023]

life history

photosynthetic_pathway (categorical): c3 (2) [sources: White_2020; Williams_2011]
plant_growth_form (categorical): fern (5); herb (4) [sources: ABRS_2022; NHNSW_2022; NSWFRD_2014; Pickup_2021; RBGV_2022; Wenk_2022; White_2020; Williams_2011]
life_form (categorical): hemicryptophyte (1) [sources: Williams_2011]
life_history (categorical): perennial (2) [sources: Cheal_2017; Wenk_2023]
plant_growth_substrate (categorical): terrestrial (1) [sources: NHNSW_2022]
woodiness_detailed (categorical): herbaceous (4) [sources: ABRS_2022; NHNSW_2022; RBGV_2022; Wenk_2022]
nitrogen_fixing (categorical): non_nitrogen_fixer (2) [sources: White_2020; Williams_2011]
root_structure (categorical): non_mycorrhizal (1) [sources: Williams_2011]
parasitic (categorical): not_parasitic (1) [sources: White_2020]
pollination_syndrome (categorical): abiotic (1) [sources: White_2020]
pollination_system (categorical): abiotic (1) [sources: Williams_2011]
dispersal_syndrome (categorical): anemochory (2) [sources: White_2020; Williams_2011]
dispersers (categorical): wind (1) [sources: White_2020]
seedbank_longevity_class (categorical): transient (1) [sources: White_2020]
vegetative_reproduction_ability (categorical): not_vegetative (1) [sources: White_2020]
clonal_spread_mechanism (categorical): rhizome (1) [sources: Williams_2011]
storage_organ (categorical): rhizome (4) [sources: ABRS_2023; NHNSW_2023; RBGV_2023; SAH_2023]
bud_bank_location (categorical): apical_buds (1); basal_buds (1) [sources: Carey_2003; Doherty_2021]

nutrient and stable isotope

leaf_N_per_dry_mass (numerical): 16.81 mg/g (15-18.61 mg/g) [sources: Smith_1996]
leaf_P_per_dry_mass (numerical): 1.94 mg/g (1.12-2.76 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): 0.8 m (0.8-0.8 m) [sources: Mokany_2015]
plant_physical_defence_structures (categorical): absent (1) [sources: White_2020]

Sources

dataset_id	n_traits	n_records	reference
Smith_1996	17	155	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	17	17	M. White, S. Sinclair, and D. Frood. Victorian Vital Attributes Database. database. Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning, Victoria, 2020.
ABRS_2023	6	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.
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.
RBGV_2023	7	8	VicFlora. Flora of Victoria, Royal Botanic Gardens Victoria. accessed on 6 May, 2022.. 2023. url: https://vicflora.rbg.vic.gov.au/.
NHNSW_2023	6	7	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/.
Cheal_2017	6	6	D. Cheal. Growth stages and tolerable fire intervals for Victoria's native vegetation data sets. Fire and adaptive management, report no. 84. Victorian Government Department of Sustainability and Environment Melbourne, 2010.
Pickup_2021	3	6	M. Pickup and T. McDonald. Bushfire impacts — A national model for assessing local landscape restoration priorities. Project Phoenix Report. Greening Australia, 2021. url: https://www.greeningaustralia.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/1.02R2.pdf.
SAH_2023	4	4	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/.
Carey_2003	3	3	A. C. &. M. E. &. P. H. &. M. L. &. T. M. &. P. O. &. S. S. &. D. S. &. N. Webb. Wildfires in the ACT 2003: Report on Initial Impacts on Natural Ecosystems. Technical Report No. 17. Environment ACT, 2003. url: https://www.act.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0009/2539593/17-wildfires-in-the-act-report-on-initial-impacts-on-natural-ecosystems-2003.pdf.
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/.
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.
NSWFRD_2014	2	2	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	2	2	VicFlora. Flora of Victoria, Royal Botanic Gardens Victoria. accessed on 6 May, 2022.. 2022. url: https://vicflora.rbg.vic.gov.au/.
Wenk_2022	2	2	E. Wenk. “Unpublished data: Australian plant growth forms dataset”. 2022.
Wenk_2023	1	1	E. Wenk. “Unpublished data: Australian plant life history dataset, University of New South Wales, Sydney”. 2023.