AusTraits

Ptilotus exaltatus

Explore the data for this taxon in the portal

Family Amaranthaceae

Taxonomy: Ptilotus exaltatus Nees

Synonyms: 8 (APC 2026-07-30)
  • Ptilotus exaltatus Nees var. exaltatus (nomenclatural synonym)
  • Ptilotus exaltatus var. glaber Benl (taxonomic synonym)
  • Ptilotus exaltatus var. pallidus Benl (taxonomic synonym)
  • Ptilotus exaltatus var. villosus Benl (taxonomic synonym)
  • Ptilotus sp. Goldfields (R.Davis 10796) WA Herbarium (taxonomic synonym)
  • Trichinium burtonii F.M.Bailey (taxonomic synonym)
  • Trichinium exaltatum (Nees) Benth. (nomenclatural synonym)
  • Trichinium nervosum F.M.Bailey (taxonomic synonym)
Misapplied names: 2 (APC 2026-07-30)
  • Ptilotus nobilis (Lindl.) F.Muell. subsp. nobilis (misapplied)
  • Ptilotus nobilis (Lindl.) F.Muell. subsp. nobilis (pro parte misapplied)

Distribution (APC): WA, NT, SA, Qld, NSW, Vic

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

Traits

Top source datasets: ANBG_2019 (1), Cheal_2017 (16), Clarke_2015 (3), Crowley_2007 (2), Draper_2023 (3), Dwyer_2017 (3), Fonseca_2000 (5), Gosper_2018 (6), Islam_1999_1 (25), Jurado_1991 (6), NHNSW_2014_2 (4), NHNSW_2024 (12), NTH_2022 (4), NTH_2023 (10), Nano_2011 (2), RBGV_2022 (3), RBGV_2023 (11), SAH_2014 (3), SAH_2022 (4), SAH_2023 (6), Sweedman_2006 (4), WAH_2022_1 (4), WAH_2022_2 (12), WAH_2023_1 (7), WAH_2023_2 (6), Wenk_2022 (2), Wenk_2023 (1). See below for a full list of sources.
Summary: AusTraits contains 45 traits from 165 records in 27 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); resprouts (2) [sources: Cheal_2017; Clarke_2015; Crowley_2007; Gosper_2018; Nano_2011]
  • post_fire_recruitment (categorical): post_fire_recruitment (3) [sources: Cheal_2017; Clarke_2015]
fruit morphology
  • fruit_type (categorical): nut (1); utricle (1) [sources: NTH_2023; RBGV_2023]
  • fruit_dehiscence (categorical): indehiscent (1) [sources: NTH_2023]
leaf morphology
  • leaf_area (numerical): 586.2 mm2 (172.4-1000 mm2) [sources: Fonseca_2000; Jurado_1991]
  • leaf_length (numerical): 104.4 mm (10-200 mm) [sources: NHNSW_2024; NTH_2023; RBGV_2023; SAH_2014; WAH_2023_1]
  • leaf_width (numerical): 38.58 mm (5-90 mm) [sources: Fonseca_2000; NHNSW_2024; NTH_2023; RBGV_2023; SAH_2014; WAH_2023_1]
  • leaf_dry_mass (numerical): 66 mg (66-66 mg) [sources: Fonseca_2000]
  • leaf_mass_per_area (numerical): 213.05 g/m2 (41.48-384.62 g/m2) [sources: Dwyer_2017; Fonseca_2000]
  • leaf_type (categorical): broadleaf (1) [sources: NHNSW_2024]
  • leaf_shape (categorical): lanceolate (2); linear (1); narrowly_elliptical (1); oblanceolate (1); obovate (2); ovate (1); spathulate (2); widely_elliptical (1) [sources: NHNSW_2024; NTH_2023; RBGV_2023]
  • leaf_base_shape (categorical): attenuate (1) [sources: RBGV_2023]
  • leaf_margin (categorical): entire (2) [sources: NHNSW_2014_2; NHNSW_2024]
  • leaf_margin_posture (categorical): undulate (3) [sources: NHNSW_2024; RBGV_2023; SAH_2023]
  • leaf_compoundness (categorical): simple (1) [sources: NHNSW_2014_2]
  • leaf_lamina_posture (categorical): undulate (1) [sources: NHNSW_2024]
  • leaf_phyllotaxis (categorical): alternate (3) [sources: NHNSW_2014_2; NTH_2023; WAH_2023_1]
  • plant_photosynthetic_organ (categorical): leaf (6) [sources: NHNSW_2024; NTH_2023; RBGV_2023; SAH_2023; WAH_2023_1]
life history
  • plant_growth_form (categorical): herb (9); shrub (2) [sources: Fonseca_2000; Gosper_2018; Jurado_1991; NTH_2022; RBGV_2022; SAH_2022; WAH_2022_1; WAH_2022_2; Wenk_2022]
  • life_form (categorical): chamaephyte (1); geophyte (2) [sources: Cheal_2017; Gosper_2018]
  • life_history (categorical): annual (8); perennial (6); short_lived_perennial (3) [sources: Cheal_2017; Gosper_2018; NTH_2022; RBGV_2022; SAH_2022; WAH_2022_1; WAH_2022_2; Wenk_2023]
  • woodiness_detailed (categorical): herbaceous (8); woody_root (1) [sources: NTH_2022; RBGV_2022; SAH_2022; WAH_2022_1; WAH_2022_2; Wenk_2022]
  • stem_growth_habit (categorical): erect (5); rhizomatous (1); rosette (1); spreading (1) [sources: NTH_2022; SAH_2022; WAH_2022_1; WAH_2022_2; WAH_2023_1]
  • pollination_syndrome (categorical): wind (1) [sources: Draper_2023]
  • dispersal_syndrome (categorical): anemochory (2) [sources: Draper_2023; Jurado_1991]
  • dispersers (categorical): wind (1) [sources: Draper_2023]
  • seedbank_location (categorical): canopy_seedbank_absent (1); soil_seedbank (1) [sources: Gosper_2018]
  • serotiny (categorical): not_serotinous (1) [sources: Gosper_2018]
  • seedbank_longevity_class (categorical): long_persistent (2) [sources: Cheal_2017]
  • storage_organ (categorical): rhizome_woody (1) [sources: SAH_2023]
  • bud_bank_location (categorical): none (3) [sources: Clarke_2015; Crowley_2007; Nano_2011]
nutrient and stable isotope
seed morphology
  • seed_dry_mass (numerical): 1.15 mg (0.89-1.66 mg) [sources: ANBG_2019; Dwyer_2017; Jurado_1991]
  • seed_shape (categorical): lenticular (2) [sources: SAH_2023]
whole plant morphology
  • plant_height (numerical): 1.03 m (0.1-1.5 m) [sources: NHNSW_2014_2; NHNSW_2024; NTH_2023; RBGV_2023; SAH_2014; WAH_2023_2]

Sources

dataset_idn_traitsn_recordsreference
Islam_1999_1525M. Islam, D. W. Turner, and M. A. Adams. “Phosphorus availability and the growth, mineral composition and nutritive value of ephemeral forbs and associated perennials from the Pilbara, Western Australia”. Australian Journal of Experimental Agriculture 39 (1999), pp. 149-159. doi: 10.1071/EA98133.
Cheal_2017816D. 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.
NHNSW_20241012N. H. of New South Wales. The Plant Information Network System of The Royal Botanic Gardens and Domain Trust Version 2.0.. accessed on December, 2023.. 2024. url: https://plantnet.rbgsyd.nsw.gov.au/.
WAH_2022_2412Western Australian Herbarium. Florabase—the Western Australian Flora.. accessed on 14 September, 2022.. 2022. url: https://florabase.dpaw.wa.gov.au/.
RBGV_2023911VicFlora. Flora of Victoria, Royal Botanic Gardens Victoria. accessed on 6 May, 2022.. 2023. url: https://vicflora.rbg.vic.gov.au/.
NTH_2023810D. 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/.
WAH_2023_157Western Australian Herbarium. Florabase—the Western Australian Flora.. accessed on 14 September, 2022.. 2023. url: https://florabase.dpaw.wa.gov.au/.
Gosper_201866C. R. Gosper, C. J. Yates, G. D. Cook, J. M. Harvey, A. C. Liedloff, W. L. McCaw, K. R. Thiele, and S. M. Prober. “A conceptual model of vegetation dynamics for the unique obligate-seeder eucalypt woodlands of south-western Australia”. Austral Ecology 43.6 (2018), pp. 681-695. doi: 10.1111/aec.12613.
Jurado_199166E. Jurado. “Diaspore weight, dispersal, growth form and perenniality of central Australian plants”. Journal of Ecology 79 (1991), pp. 811-828.
SAH_202346S. 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_2023_216Western Australian Herbarium. Florabase—the Western Australian Flora.. accessed on 14 September, 2022.. 2023. url: https://florabase.dpaw.wa.gov.au/.
Fonseca_200055C. 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.
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/.
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/.
Sweedman_200624L. Sweedman and D. Merritt. Australian Seeds: A Guide to Their Collection, Identification, and Biology. CSIRO Publishing, 2006. ISBN: 9780643094079.
WAH_2022_144Western Australian Herbarium. Florabase—the Western Australian Flora.. accessed on 14 September, 2022.. 2022. url: https://florabase.dpaw.wa.gov.au/.
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.
Draper_202333J. 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.
Dwyer_201733J. 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.
RBGV_202233VicFlora. Flora of Victoria, Royal Botanic Gardens Victoria. accessed on 6 May, 2022.. 2022. url: https://vicflora.rbg.vic.gov.au/.
SAH_201433J. 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.
Crowley_200722G. Crowley, M. Gardener, and M. Marrinan. Tropical savannas fire response database. 2007. url: [www.landmanager.org.au](www.landmanager.org.au).
Nano_201122C. E. M. Nano and P. J. Clarke. “How do drought and fire influence the patterns of resprouting in Australian deserts?”. Plant Ecology 212 (2011), pp. 2095-2110. doi: 10.1007/s11258-011-9988-x.
Wenk_202222E. Wenk. “Unpublished data: Australian plant growth forms dataset”. 2022.
ANBG_201911Australian National Botanic Gardens. The National Seed Bank. 2018. url: http://www.anbg.gov.au/gardens/living/seedbank/.
Wenk_202311E. Wenk. “Unpublished data: Australian plant life history dataset, University of New South Wales, Sydney”. 2023.