AusTraits

Ptilotus obovatus

Explore the data for this taxon in the portal

Family Amaranthaceae

Taxonomy: Ptilotus obovatus (Gaudich.) F.Muell.

Synonyms: 8 (APC 2026-07-30)
  • Gomotriche tomentosa Turcz. (taxonomic synonym)
  • Goniotriche tomentosa Turcz. (taxonomic synonym)
  • Ptilotus lindleyi F.Muell. (taxonomic synonym)
  • Ptilotus obovatus (Gaudich.) F.Muell. var. obovatus (nomenclatural synonym)
  • Trichinium lanatum Lindl. (taxonomic synonym)
  • Trichinium obovatum Gaudich. (nomenclatural synonym)
  • Trichinium obovatum Gaudich. var. obovatum (nomenclatural synonym)
  • Trichinium variabile F.Muell. (taxonomic synonym)
Misapplied names: 3 (APC 2026-07-30)
  • Ptilotus astrolasius F.Muell. var. astrolasius (misapplied)
  • Trichinium atriplicifolium A.Cunn. ex Moq. (pro parte misapplied)
  • Trichinium incanum R.Br. (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: Clarke_2015 (3), Crowley_2007 (2), Curtis_2012 (14), Dong_2017 (44), Draper_2023 (3), Fonseca_2000 (13), Gosper_2018 (6), Jurado_1991 (5), Kew_2019_1 (1), Kew_2019_5 (1), Leishman_1992 (7), Munroe_2019 (1), NHNSW_2014_2 (10), NHNSW_2024 (8), NSWFRD_2014 (3), NTH_2022 (4), NTH_2023 (14), Nano_2011 (2), Pate_1998 (6), RBGV_2022 (3), RBGV_2023 (9), RussellSmith_2012 (8), SAH_2014 (2), SAH_2022 (3), SAH_2023 (6), Sjostrom_2006 (4), Soliveres_2012 (2), Sweedman_2006 (4), WAH_1998 (1), WAH_2022_1 (4), WAH_2022_2 (7), WAH_2023_1 (6), WAH_2023_2 (4), Wenk_2022 (2), Wenk_2023 (1), White_2020 (38). See below for a full list of sources.
Summary: AusTraits contains 66 traits from 251 records in 36 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); partial_resprouting (1); resprouts (5) [sources: Clarke_2015; Crowley_2007; Gosper_2018; NSWFRD_2014; Nano_2011; RussellSmith_2012; White_2020]
  • post_fire_recruitment (categorical): post_fire_recruitment (2); post_fire_recruitment_absent (1) [sources: Clarke_2015; NSWFRD_2014]
flower morphology
  • flower_colour (categorical): pink (1); white_cream (1) [sources: NHNSW_2014_2]
  • sex_type (categorical): hermaphrodite (1) [sources: Sjostrom_2006]
fruit morphology
  • fruit_length (numerical): 1.5 mm (1-2 mm) [sources: NTH_2023]
  • fruit_width (numerical): 0.75 mm (0.5-1 mm) [sources: NTH_2023]
  • fruit_type (categorical): nut (1); utricle (2) [sources: NTH_2023; RBGV_2023; Sjostrom_2006]
  • fruit_fleshiness (categorical): dry (1) [sources: Sjostrom_2006]
  • fruit_dehiscence (categorical): indehiscent (2) [sources: NTH_2023; Sjostrom_2006]
leaf morphology
  • leaf_area (numerical): 195.96 mm2 (24.2-511.33 mm2) [sources: Curtis_2012; Fonseca_2000; Jurado_1991; Leishman_1992]
  • leaf_length (numerical): 31.9 mm (6-60 mm) [sources: Curtis_2012; NHNSW_2014_2; NHNSW_2024; NTH_2023; RBGV_2023; SAH_2023; WAH_2023_1]
  • leaf_width (numerical): 11.8 mm (3-23.39 mm) [sources: Curtis_2012; Fonseca_2000; NHNSW_2014_2; NHNSW_2024; NTH_2023; RBGV_2023; SAH_2014; WAH_2023_1]
  • leaf_dry_mass (numerical): 15.25 mg (4-40 mg) [sources: Curtis_2012; Fonseca_2000]
  • leaf_mass_per_area (numerical): 133.21 g/m2 (78.31-188.31 g/m2) [sources: Curtis_2012; Dong_2017; Fonseca_2000]
  • leaf_dry_matter_content (numerical): 0.28 g/g (0.28-0.28 g/g) [sources: Curtis_2012]
  • leaf_type (categorical): broadleaf (1) [sources: NHNSW_2024]
  • leaf_shape (categorical): elliptical (3); lanceolate (2); obovate (4); ovate (1) [sources: NHNSW_2024; NTH_2023; RBGV_2023; SAH_2023]
  • leaf_margin (categorical): entire (1) [sources: NHNSW_2014_2]
  • leaf_compoundness (categorical): simple (1) [sources: NHNSW_2014_2]
  • leaf_phyllotaxis (categorical): alternate (3) [sources: NHNSW_2014_2; NTH_2023; WAH_2023_1]
  • leaf_arrangement (categorical): scattered (1) [sources: RBGV_2023]
  • plant_photosynthetic_organ (categorical): leaf (6) [sources: NHNSW_2024; NTH_2023; RBGV_2023; SAH_2023; WAH_2023_1]
life history
  • photosynthetic_pathway (categorical): c3 (4) [sources: Munroe_2019; Pate_1998; White_2020]
  • plant_growth_form (categorical): herb (5); shrub (10); subshrub (3) [sources: Curtis_2012; Fonseca_2000; Gosper_2018; Jurado_1991; Leishman_1992; NSWFRD_2014; NTH_2022; Pate_1998; RBGV_2022; SAH_2022; Soliveres_2012; WAH_2022_1; WAH_2022_2; Wenk_2022; White_2020]
  • life_form (categorical): phanerophyte (1) [sources: Gosper_2018]
  • life_history (categorical): perennial (11) [sources: Curtis_2012; Gosper_2018; Leishman_1992; NTH_2022; Pate_1998; RBGV_2022; SAH_2022; WAH_2022_1; WAH_2022_2; Wenk_2023]
  • woodiness_detailed (categorical): herbaceous (2); semi_woody (1); woody (4) [sources: NTH_2022; RBGV_2022; SAH_2022; WAH_2022_1; WAH_2022_2; Wenk_2022]
  • stem_growth_habit (categorical): erect (2); prostrate (1); spreading (2) [sources: NHNSW_2014_2; NTH_2022; WAH_2022_1; WAH_2022_2]
  • nitrogen_fixing (categorical): non_nitrogen_fixer (5) [sources: Dong_2017; Pate_1998; White_2020]
  • parasitic (categorical): not_parasitic (2) [sources: White_2020]
  • pollination_syndrome (categorical): insect (2); wind (1) [sources: Draper_2023; White_2020]
  • dispersal_syndrome (categorical): anemochory (3); barochory (1); epizoochory (2) [sources: Draper_2023; Jurado_1991; Kew_2019_5; Soliveres_2012; White_2020]
  • dispersers (categorical): mammals (2); wind (1) [sources: Draper_2023; White_2020]
  • flowering_time (categorical): nnnnnyyyyyyn (2); nnnnnyyyyyyy (1) [sources: WAH_1998; White_2020]
  • seedbank_location (categorical): canopy_seedbank_absent (1) [sources: Gosper_2018]
  • serotiny (categorical): not_serotinous (1) [sources: Gosper_2018]
  • seedbank_longevity_class (categorical): persistent (4) [sources: RussellSmith_2012; White_2020]
  • vegetative_reproduction_ability (categorical): not_vegetative (2) [sources: White_2020]
  • storage_organ (categorical): no_storage_organ (1) [sources: Leishman_1992]
  • bud_bank_location (categorical): basal_stem_buds (3) [sources: Clarke_2015; Crowley_2007; Nano_2011]
nutrient and stable isotope
  • leaf_N_per_dry_mass (numerical): 26.89 mg/g (17.64-39.46 mg/g) [sources: Dong_2017]
  • leaf_delta13C (numerical): -27.19 {delta}[ppth] (-28.65--24.92 {delta}[ppth]) [sources: Dong_2017; Pate_1998]
seed morphology
  • seed_dry_mass (numerical): 0.95 mg (0.73-1.18 mg) [sources: Kew_2019_1; Leishman_1992]
  • seed_shape (categorical): lenticular (2) [sources: SAH_2023]
whole plant morphology

Sources

dataset_idn_traitsn_recordsreference
Dong_2017844N. Dong, I. C. Prentice, B. J. Evans, S. Caddy-Retalic, A. J. Lowe, and I. J. Wright. “Leaf nitrogen from first principles: field evidence for adaptive variation with climate”. Biogeosciences 14.2 (2017), pp. 481-495. doi: 10.5194/bg-14-481-2017.
White_20201938M. White, S. Sinclair, and D. Frood. Victorian Vital Attributes Database. database. Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning, Victoria, 2020.
Curtis_20121414E. M. Curtis, A. Leigh, and S. Rayburg. “Relationships among leaf traits of Australian arid zone plants: alternative modes of thermal protection”. Australian Journal of Botany 60.6 (2012), pp. 471-483. doi: 10.1071/bt11284.
NTH_20231014D. 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/.
Fonseca_2000513C. 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_2810Royal Botanic Gardens Sydney. PLantNET: NSW flora online. 2014. url: http://plantnet.rbgsyd.nsw.gov.au/.
RBGV_202379VicFlora. Flora of Victoria, Royal Botanic Gardens Victoria. accessed on 6 May, 2022.. 2023. url: https://vicflora.rbg.vic.gov.au/.
NHNSW_202468N. 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/.
RussellSmith_201248J. 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.
Leishman_199277M. R. Leishman and M. Westoby. “Classifying plants into groups on the basis of associations of individual traits-Evidence from Australian semi-arid woodlands”. Journal of Ecology 80 (1992), pp. 417-424. doi: 10.2307/2260687.
WAH_2022_247Western Australian Herbarium. Florabase—the Western Australian Flora.. accessed on 14 September, 2022.. 2022. 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.
Pate_199866J. S. Pate, M. J. Unkovich, P. D. Erskine, and G. R. Stewart. “Australian mulga ecosystems- 13C and 15N natural abundances of biota components and their ecophysiological significance”. Plant, Cell and Environment 21.12 (1998), pp. 1231-1242. doi: 10.1046/j.1365-3040.1998.00359.x.
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_146Western Australian Herbarium. Florabase—the Western Australian Flora.. accessed on 14 September, 2022.. 2023. url: https://florabase.dpaw.wa.gov.au/.
Jurado_199155E. Jurado. “Diaspore weight, dispersal, growth form and perenniality of central Australian plants”. Journal of Ecology 79 (1991), pp. 811-828.
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/.
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.
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/.
WAH_2023_214Western Australian Herbarium. Florabase—the Western Australian Flora.. accessed on 14 September, 2022.. 2023. 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.
NSWFRD_201433B. 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_202233VicFlora. Flora of Victoria, Royal Botanic Gardens Victoria. accessed on 6 May, 2022.. 2022. url: https://vicflora.rbg.vic.gov.au/.
SAH_202233S. 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/.
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.
SAH_201422J. 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.
Soliveres_201222S. Soliveres, D. J. Eldridge, F. Hemmings, and F. T. Maestre. “Nurse plant effects on plant species richness in drylands: The role of grazing, rainfall and species specificity”. Perspectives in Plant Ecology, Evolution and Systematics 14 (2012), pp. 402-410. doi: 10.1016/j.ppees.2012.09.003.
Wenk_202222E. Wenk. “Unpublished data: Australian plant growth forms dataset”. 2022.
Kew_2019_111Royal Botanic Gardens Kew. Seed Information Database (SID) and Seed Bank Database. 2019. url: http://data.kew.org/sid/.
Kew_2019_511Royal Botanic Gardens Kew. Seed dispersal data from the Seed Information Database (SID) and Seed Bank Database. 2019. url: http://data.kew.org/sid/.
Munroe_201911S. E. M. Munroe, F. A. McInerney, J. Andrae, N. Welti, G. R. Guerin, E. Leitch, T. Hall, S. Szarvas, R. Atkins, S. Caddy-Retalic, and B. Sparrow. “The Photosynthetic Pathways of Plant Species Surveyed in Australia's National Terrestrial Monitoring Network”. Scientific Data 8 (2021), p. 97. doi: 10.1038/s41597-021-00877-z.
WAH_199811Western Australian Herbarium. FloraBase: The Western Australian flora. 1998. url: http://florabase.dpaw.wa.gov.au.
Wenk_202311E. Wenk. “Unpublished data: Australian plant life history dataset, University of New South Wales, Sydney”. 2023.