Pterostylis nutans

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Family Orchidaceae

Taxonomy: Pterostylis nutans R.Br.

Synonyms: 3 (APC 2026-07-30)

Pterostylis mathewsii M.A.Clem. (taxonomic synonym)
Pterostylis matthewsii Cheeseman (taxonomic synonym)
Pterostylis nutans R.Br. var. nutans (nomenclatural synonym)

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 (3), ABRS_2023 (9), Cheal_2017 (6), Doherty_2021 (2), Draper_2023 (3), Hughes_1992 (3), Kubiak_2009 (4), Leishman_1995 (4), Mesaglio_2022 (2), Mokany_2015 (3), NHNSW_2014_2 (3), NHNSW_2022 (4), NHNSW_2023 (11), NSWFRD_2014 (7), RBGV_2022 (3), RBGV_2023 (12), SAH_2014 (2), SAH_2022 (3), SAH_2023 (10), Sjostrom_2006 (4), Wenk_2022 (2), Wenk_2023 (1), White_2020 (42), Williams_2011 (11). See below for a full list of sources.
Summary: AusTraits contains 54 traits from 154 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): resprouts (7) [sources: Cheal_2017; Doherty_2021; Kubiak_2009; NSWFRD_2014; White_2020]
post_fire_recruitment (categorical): post_fire_recruitment_absent (1) [sources: NSWFRD_2014]
fire_time_from_fire_to_flowering (numerical): 12 mo (12-12 mo) [sources: NSWFRD_2014]

flower morphology

flower_colour (categorical): green (1); red_brown (1) [sources: NHNSW_2014_2]
sex_type (categorical): hermaphrodite (1) [sources: Sjostrom_2006]

fruit morphology

fruit_type (categorical): capsule (4) [sources: NHNSW_2023; RBGV_2023; SAH_2023; Sjostrom_2006]
fruit_fleshiness (categorical): dry (1) [sources: Sjostrom_2006]
fruit_dehiscence (categorical): dehiscent (1) [sources: Sjostrom_2006]

leaf morphology

leaf_area (numerical): 545.2 mm2 (545.2-545.2 mm2) [sources: Mokany_2015]
leaf_length (numerical): 41.25 mm (10-90 mm) [sources: ABRS_2023; NHNSW_2023; RBGV_2023; SAH_2014]
leaf_width (numerical): 17.5 mm (10-30 mm) [sources: ABRS_2023; NHNSW_2023; RBGV_2023]
petiole_length (numerical): 2 cm (1.5-2.5 cm) [sources: SAH_2023]
leaf_mass_per_area (numerical): 24.8 g/m2 (24.8-24.8 g/m2) [sources: Leishman_1995]
leaf_shape (categorical): elliptical (2); lanceolate (1); oblong (4); ovate (4) [sources: ABRS_2023; NHNSW_2023; RBGV_2023; SAH_2023]
leaf_margin (categorical): entire (3) [sources: NHNSW_2014_2; RBGV_2023; SAH_2023]
leaf_margin_posture (categorical): undulate (3) [sources: ABRS_2023; NHNSW_2023; RBGV_2023]
leaf_compoundness (categorical): simple (2) [sources: ABRS_2023; NHNSW_2023]
leaf_lamina_posture (categorical): convolute (1) [sources: NHNSW_2023]
plant_photosynthetic_organ (categorical): leaf (4) [sources: ABRS_2023; NHNSW_2023; RBGV_2023; SAH_2023]

life history

photosynthetic_pathway (categorical): c3 (2); cam (1) [sources: White_2020; Williams_2011]
plant_growth_form (categorical): herb (11) [sources: ABRS_2022; Hughes_1992; Leishman_1995; NHNSW_2022; NSWFRD_2014; RBGV_2022; SAH_2022; Wenk_2022; White_2020; Williams_2011]
life_form (categorical): geophyte (4) [sources: Cheal_2017; White_2020; Williams_2011]
life_history (categorical): perennial (4) [sources: ABRS_2022; Cheal_2017; NHNSW_2022; Wenk_2023]
plant_growth_substrate (categorical): terrestrial (3) [sources: NHNSW_2022; RBGV_2022; SAH_2022]
woodiness_detailed (categorical): herbaceous (5) [sources: ABRS_2022; NHNSW_2022; RBGV_2022; SAH_2022; Wenk_2022]
stem_growth_habit (categorical): rosette (4) [sources: ABRS_2023; NHNSW_2023; RBGV_2023; SAH_2023]
nitrogen_fixing (categorical): non_nitrogen_fixer (3) [sources: White_2020; Williams_2011]
root_structure (categorical): orchid_mycorrhizal (1) [sources: Williams_2011]
parasitic (categorical): not_parasitic (2) [sources: White_2020]
pollination_syndrome (categorical): insect (3) [sources: Draper_2023; White_2020]
pollination_system (categorical): biotic_unspecialised (1) [sources: Williams_2011]
dispersal_syndrome (categorical): anemochory (4); barochory (1) [sources: Draper_2023; Leishman_1995; White_2020; Williams_2011]
dispersers (categorical): wind (3) [sources: Draper_2023; White_2020]
flowering_time (categorical): nnnnnnnnynnn (1); nnnnnyyyynnn (1); nnnnyyyynnnn (1); nnnyyyyyyynn (4) [sources: Hughes_1992; Mesaglio_2022; NHNSW_2014_2; NSWFRD_2014; White_2020]
seedbank_longevity_class (categorical): transient (2) [sources: White_2020]
vegetative_reproduction_ability (categorical): vegetative (2) [sources: White_2020]
clonal_spread_mechanism (categorical): stem_tuber (1) [sources: Williams_2011]
storage_organ (categorical): stem_tuber (2) [sources: RBGV_2023; SAH_2023]
bud_bank_location (categorical): bud-bearing_root (1); stem_tuber (1) [sources: Doherty_2021; NSWFRD_2014]

seed morphology

seed_dry_mass (numerical): 0 mg (0-0 mg) [sources: Mokany_2015; Williams_2011]

whole plant morphology

plant_height (numerical): 0.26 m (0.05-0.4 m) [sources: Hughes_1992; Leishman_1995; Mokany_2015; RBGV_2023; SAH_2023]
plant_physical_defence_structures (categorical): absent (2) [sources: White_2020]

Sources

dataset_id	n_traits	n_records	reference
White_2020	21	42	M. White, S. Sinclair, and D. Frood. Victorian Vital Attributes Database. database. Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning, Victoria, 2020.
RBGV_2023	10	12	VicFlora. Flora of Victoria, Royal Botanic Gardens Victoria. accessed on 6 May, 2022.. 2023. url: https://vicflora.rbg.vic.gov.au/.
NHNSW_2023	9	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.
SAH_2023	8	10	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/.
ABRS_2023	7	9	Australian Biological Resources Study. Flora of Australia, Australian Biological Resources Study, Canberra.. accessed on 14 September, 2022.. 2023. url: http://www.ausflora.org.au.
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.
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.
Kubiak_2009	3	4	P. J. Kubiak. “Fire responses of bushland plants after the January 1994 wildfires in northern Sydney”. Cunninghamia 11.1 (2009), pp. 131-165.
Leishman_1995	4	4	M. R. Leishman, M. Westoby, and E. Jurado. “Correlates of seed size variation: A comparison among five temperate floras”. Journal of Ecology 83 (1995), pp. 517-529. doi: 10.2307/2261604.
NHNSW_2022	4	4	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/.
Sjostrom_2006	4	4	A. 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.
ABRS_2022	3	3	Australian Biological Resources Study. Flora of Australia, Australian Biological Resources Study, Canberra.. accessed on 14 September, 2022.. 2022. url: http://www.ausflora.org.au.
Draper_2023	3	3	J. T. Draper, S. Delean, J. G. Conran, P. Weinstein, and B. S. Simpson. “Life-history characteristics and climate correlates of dioecious plant species in central southern Australia”. Australian Journal of Botany unknown.unknown (2023), p. unknown. doi: 10.1071/BT22110.
Hughes_1992	3	3	L. Hughes and B. Rice. “Unpublished data: Traits data for 643 species, Macquarie University”. 1992.
Mokany_2015	3	3	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	3	3	Royal Botanic Gardens Sydney. PLantNET: NSW flora online. 2014. url: http://plantnet.rbgsyd.nsw.gov.au/.
RBGV_2022	3	3	VicFlora. Flora of Victoria, Royal Botanic Gardens Victoria. accessed on 6 May, 2022.. 2022. url: https://vicflora.rbg.vic.gov.au/.
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/.
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.
Mesaglio_2022	1	2	T. Mesaglio. “Unpublished data: Comprehensive biodiversity survey of Wategora Reserve and Everley Park along Duck River, western Sydney”. 2022. doi: 10.32942/X29886.
SAH_2014	1	2	J. 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.
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.