Pultenaea flexilis

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Family Fabaceae

Taxonomy: Pultenaea flexilis Sm.

Synonyms: 4 (APC 2026-07-30)

Dillwynia teucrioides DC. (taxonomic synonym)
Pultenaea flexilis Sm. var. flexilis (nomenclatural synonym)
Pultenaea polygalifolia Rudge (taxonomic synonym)
Pultenaea sweetii G.Don (taxonomic synonym)

Distribution (APC): Qld, NSW

Profiles: APC, Flora of Australia, ALA, iNaturalist, NSW Flora, ATRP

Traits

Top source datasets: Clarke_2015 (3), Collette_2021 (1), Hughes_1992 (5), Kew_2019_1 (4), Kubiak_2009 (5), Laxton_2005 (11), Leishman_1993 (1), Leishman_1995 (7), Moles_2000 (5), NHNSW_2014_2 (3), NHNSW_2022 (4), NHNSW_2023 (12), NSWFRD_2014 (8), Onoda_2010 (35), Pickup_2021 (5), Sjostrom_2006 (4), Tsujii_2023 (8), Wenk_2022 (2), Wenk_2023 (1), White_2020 (19), Wright_2001 (3), Wright_2002 (77), Zanne_2007 (24). See below for a full list of sources.
Summary: AusTraits contains 103 traits from 247 records in 23 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 (6) [sources: Clarke_2015; Kubiak_2009; NSWFRD_2014; Pickup_2021; White_2020]
post_fire_recruitment (categorical): post_fire_recruitment (2) [sources: Clarke_2015; Pickup_2021]

flower morphology

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

fruit morphology

fruit_length (numerical): 7.5 mm (6-9 mm) [sources: NHNSW_2023]
fruit_type (categorical): legume (2) [sources: NHNSW_2023; Sjostrom_2006]
fruit_fleshiness (categorical): dry (1) [sources: Sjostrom_2006]
fruit_dehiscence (categorical): dehiscent (1) [sources: Sjostrom_2006]

leaf morphology

leaf_area (numerical): 42.36 mm2 (27-51.4 mm2) [sources: Laxton_2005; Leishman_1995; Moles_2000; Wright_2002]
leaf_length (numerical): 14 mm (8-20 mm) [sources: NHNSW_2023]
leaf_width (numerical): 3 mm (2-4 mm) [sources: NHNSW_2023]
leaf_mass_per_area (numerical): 86.92 g/m2 (62.97-119.19 g/m2) [sources: Laxton_2005; Leishman_1995; Moles_2000; Tsujii_2023; Wright_2002; Zanne_2007]
leaf_shape (categorical): linear (1); narrowly_obovate (1); obovate (1) [sources: NHNSW_2023]
leaf_margin (categorical): entire (1) [sources: NHNSW_2023]
leaf_margin_posture (categorical): flat (1); involute (1) [sources: NHNSW_2023]
leaf_compoundness (categorical): simple (1) [sources: NHNSW_2014_2]
leaf_hairs_adult_leaves (categorical): hairy (1) [sources: Moles_2000]
leaf_phyllotaxis (categorical): alternate (1) [sources: NHNSW_2023]
plant_photosynthetic_organ (categorical): leaf (1) [sources: NHNSW_2023]

life history

photosynthetic_pathway (categorical): c3 (1) [sources: White_2020]
plant_growth_form (categorical): shrub (7) [sources: Hughes_1992; Leishman_1995; NHNSW_2022; NSWFRD_2014; Pickup_2021; Wenk_2022; White_2020]
life_history (categorical): perennial (2) [sources: NHNSW_2022; Wenk_2023]
woodiness_detailed (categorical): woody (2) [sources: NHNSW_2022; Wenk_2022]
stem_growth_habit (categorical): erect (1) [sources: NHNSW_2022]
nitrogen_fixing (categorical): nitrogen_fixer (1) [sources: White_2020]
parasitic (categorical): not_parasitic (1) [sources: White_2020]
pollination_syndrome (categorical): insect (1) [sources: White_2020]
dispersal_syndrome (categorical): myrmecochory (3); zoochory (1) [sources: Hughes_1992; Leishman_1995; NSWFRD_2014; White_2020]
dispersers (categorical): ants (1); invertebrates (1) [sources: NSWFRD_2014; White_2020]
flowering_time (categorical): nnnnnnnyyynn (2) [sources: Hughes_1992; White_2020]
seedbank_location (categorical): soil_seedbank (2) [sources: NSWFRD_2014; Pickup_2021]
serotiny (categorical): not_serotinous (1) [sources: Hughes_1992]
seedbank_longevity_class (categorical): persistent (3) [sources: NSWFRD_2014; Pickup_2021; White_2020]
seed_dormancy_class (categorical): physical_dormancy (1) [sources: Collette_2021]
vegetative_reproduction_ability (categorical): not_vegetative (2) [sources: NHNSW_2014_2; White_2020]
bud_bank_location (categorical): none (1) [sources: Clarke_2015]

nutrient and stable isotope

leaf_N_per_dry_mass (numerical): 19.93 mg/g (19.08-20.4 mg/g) [sources: Laxton_2005; Tsujii_2023; Wright_2002]
leaf_P_per_dry_mass (numerical): 0.41 mg/g (0.36-0.45 mg/g) [sources: Tsujii_2023; Wright_2002]
leaf_delta13C (numerical): -29.45 {delta}[ppth] (-29.45--29.45 {delta}[ppth]) [sources: Wright_2002]

seed morphology

seed_dry_mass (numerical): 5.6 mg (4.4-6.67 mg) [sources: Kew_2019_1; Leishman_1993; Leishman_1995; Wright_2001]

stem morphology

wood_density (numerical): 0.69 mg/mm3 (0.53-0.86 mg/mm3) [sources: Onoda_2010; Zanne_2007]
huber_value (numerical): 0 mm2{sapwood}/mm2{leaf} (0-0 mm2{sapwood}/mm2{leaf}) [sources: Zanne_2007]

whole plant morphology

plant_height (numerical): 3.5 m (3-4 m) [sources: Hughes_1992; Leishman_1995]
plant_physical_defence_structures (categorical): absent (1) [sources: White_2020]

Sources

dataset_id	n_traits	n_records	reference
Wright_2002	35	77	I. J. Wright and M. Westoby. “Leaves at low versus high rainfall: Coordination of structure, lifespan and physiology”. New Phytologist 155 (2002), pp. 403-416. doi: 10.1046/j.1469-8137.2002.00479.x.
Onoda_2010	7	35	Y. Onoda, A. E. Richards, and M. Westoby. “The relationship between stem biomechanics and wood density is modified by rainfall in 32 Australian woody plant species”. New Phytologist 185.2 (2009), pp. 493-501. doi: 10.1111/j.1469-8137.2009.03088.x.
Zanne_2007	6	24	A. Zanne. “Unpublished data: Hydraulic traits for NSW plant species from four field sites, Macquarie University”. 2007.
White_2020	19	19	M. White, S. Sinclair, and D. Frood. Victorian Vital Attributes Database. database. Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning, Victoria, 2020.
NHNSW_2023	9	12	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/.
Laxton_2005	11	11	E. Laxton. “Relationship between leaf traits, insect communities and resource availability”. PhD. Macquarie University, 2005. url: http://hdl.handle.net/1959.14/483.
NSWFRD_2014	8	8	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.
Tsujii_2023	8	8	Y. Tsujii, B. J. Atwell, H. Lambers, and I. J. Wright. “Leaf phosphorus fractions vary with leaf economic traits among 35 Australian woody species”. New Phytologist 241.5 (2024), pp. 1985-1997. ISSN: 1469-8137. doi: 10.1111/nph.19513.
Leishman_1995	7	7	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.
Hughes_1992	5	5	L. Hughes and B. Rice. “Unpublished data: Traits data for 643 species, Macquarie University”. 1992.
Kubiak_2009	4	5	P. J. Kubiak. “Fire responses of bushland plants after the January 1994 wildfires in northern Sydney”. Cunninghamia 11.1 (2009), pp. 131-165.
Moles_2000	3	5	A. T. Moles and M. Westoby. “Do small leaves expand faster than large leaves, and do shorter expansion times reduce herbivore damage?”. OIKOS 90.3 (2000), pp. 517-524. doi: 10.1034/j.1600-0706.2000.900310.x..
Pickup_2021	5	5	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.
Kew_2019_1	1	4	Royal Botanic Gardens Kew. Seed Information Database (SID) and Seed Bank Database. 2019. url: http://data.kew.org/sid/.
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.
Clarke_2015	3	3	P. 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.
NHNSW_2014_2	3	3	Royal Botanic Gardens Sydney. PLantNET: NSW flora online. 2014. url: http://plantnet.rbgsyd.nsw.gov.au/.
Wright_2001	2	3	I. J. Wright. “Unpublished data: Seed mass reserve data for various species in NSW, Macquarie University”. 2001.
Wenk_2022	2	2	E. Wenk. “Unpublished data: Australian plant growth forms dataset”. 2022.
Collette_2021	1	1	J. C. Collette and M. K. J. Ooi. “Distribution of seed dormancy classes across a fire-prone continent: effects of rainfall seasonality and temperature”. Annals of Botany 127.5 (2021), pp. 613-620. doi: 10.1093/aob/mcaa203.
Leishman_1993	1	1	M. Leishman. “Unpublished data: Seed mass data for Sydney species, Macquarie University”. 1990.
Wenk_2023	1	1	E. Wenk. “Unpublished data: Australian plant life history dataset, University of New South Wales, Sydney”. 2023.