Telopea speciosissima

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Family Proteaceae

Taxonomy: Telopea speciosissima (Sm.) R.Br.

Synonyms: 6 (APC 2026-07-30)

Embothrium spathulatum Cav. (taxonomic synonym)
Embothrium spatulatum Knight (taxonomic synonym)
Embothrium speciosissimum Sm. (nomenclatural synonym)
Embothrium speciosum Salisb. (nomenclatural synonym)
Hylogyne spathulata (Cav.) Kuntze (taxonomic synonym)
Hylogyne speciosa Salisb. ex Knight (nomenclatural synonym)

Distribution (APC): NSW

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

Traits

Top source datasets: ABRS_1981 (2), ABRS_2022 (4), ABRS_2023 (17), ANBG_2019 (6), Chen_2017 (5), Clarke_2015 (3), Collette_2021 (1), Gallagher_2018 (20), Huang_2015 (1150), Hughes_1992 (5), Jordan_2020 (11), Kew_2019_1 (2), Kubiak_2009 (7), Leishman_1993 (1), Leishman_1995 (6), Munroe_2019 (1), NHNSW_2014_2 (3), NHNSW_2022 (4), NHNSW_2023 (14), NSWFRD_2014 (13), Ooi_2007 (109), Schmidt_1993 (1), Sjostrom_2006 (4), Wenk_2022 (2), Wenk_2023 (1). See below for a full list of sources.
Summary: AusTraits contains 80 traits from 1,392 records in 25 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 (3) [sources: Clarke_2015; Kubiak_2009; NSWFRD_2014]
post_fire_recruitment (categorical): post_fire_recruitment (1) [sources: Clarke_2015]
fire_time_from_fire_to_flowering (numerical): 19.2 mo (19.2-19.2 mo) [sources: NSWFRD_2014]

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): 115 mm (80-150 mm) [sources: ABRS_2023; NHNSW_2023]
fruit_type (categorical): follicle (4) [sources: ABRS_2023; Chen_2017; NHNSW_2023; Sjostrom_2006]
fruit_fleshiness (categorical): dry (2) [sources: Chen_2017; Sjostrom_2006]
fruit_dehiscence (categorical): dehiscent (3) [sources: ABRS_2023; Chen_2017; Sjostrom_2006]

leaf morphology

leaf_area (numerical): 2287.25 mm2 (365.92-3994.18 mm2) [sources: Gallagher_2018; Huang_2015; Leishman_1995]
leaf_length (numerical): 180 mm (80-280 mm) [sources: ABRS_2023; NHNSW_2023]
leaf_width (numerical): 42.5 mm (20-65 mm) [sources: ABRS_2023; NHNSW_2023]
leaf_dry_mass (numerical): 470.46 mg (351.96-668.82 mg) [sources: Gallagher_2018]
leaf_mass_per_area (numerical): 140.99 g/m2 (72.53-170.07 g/m2) [sources: Gallagher_2018; Huang_2015; Leishman_1995]
leaf_area_ratio (numerical): 4.85 mm2/mg (2.05-7.92 mm2/mg) [sources: Huang_2015]
leaf_mass_fraction (numerical): 0.5 g/g (0.23-0.65 g/g) [sources: Huang_2015]
leaf_shape (categorical): narrowly_obovate (2); spathulate (2) [sources: ABRS_2023; NHNSW_2023]
leaf_base_shape (categorical): attenuate (2) [sources: ABRS_2023; NHNSW_2023]
leaf_margin (categorical): entire (2); toothed (2); toothed_serrate (1) [sources: ABRS_2023; Jordan_2020; NHNSW_2023]
leaf_lobation (categorical): lobed (1); unlobed (1) [sources: ABRS_2023]
leaf_compoundness (categorical): simple (3) [sources: ABRS_2023; Jordan_2020; NHNSW_2014_2]
leaf_hairs_adult_leaves (categorical): glabrous (1) [sources: Jordan_2020]
leaf_phyllotaxis (categorical): alternate (1) [sources: NHNSW_2014_2]
plant_photosynthetic_organ (categorical): leaf (2) [sources: ABRS_2023; NHNSW_2023]

life history

photosynthetic_pathway (categorical): c3 (1) [sources: Munroe_2019]
plant_growth_form (categorical): shrub (6) [sources: ABRS_2022; Hughes_1992; Leishman_1995; NHNSW_2022; NSWFRD_2014; Wenk_2022]
life_history (categorical): perennial (4) [sources: ABRS_2022; Jordan_2020; NHNSW_2022; Wenk_2023]
woodiness_detailed (categorical): woody (3) [sources: ABRS_2022; NHNSW_2022; Wenk_2022]
stem_growth_habit (categorical): erect (2) [sources: ABRS_2022; NHNSW_2022]
leaf_phenology (categorical): evergreen (1) [sources: ABRS_1981]
root_structure (categorical): arbuscular_mycorrhizal (1) [sources: Schmidt_1993]
dispersal_syndrome (categorical): anemochory (3) [sources: Hughes_1992; Leishman_1995; NSWFRD_2014]
dispersers (categorical): wind (2) [sources: Leishman_1995; NSWFRD_2014]
flowering_time (categorical): nnnnnnnnyynn (1); nnnnnnnnyyyy (1); nnnnnnnyyyyn (2) [sources: ABRS_1981; Chen_2017; Hughes_1992; NSWFRD_2014]
serotiny (categorical): not_serotinous (1) [sources: Hughes_1992]
seedbank_longevity_class (categorical): transient (1) [sources: NSWFRD_2014]
seed_dormancy_class (categorical): non_dormant (2) [sources: Collette_2021; Ooi_2007]
storage_organ (categorical): lignotuber (3) [sources: ABRS_2023; NHNSW_2023; NSWFRD_2014]
bud_bank_location (categorical): basal_stem_buds (2) [sources: Clarke_2015; NSWFRD_2014]

nutrient and stable isotope

leaf_N_per_dry_mass (numerical): 8.88 mg/g (8.88-8.88 mg/g) [sources: Gallagher_2018]
leaf_P_per_dry_mass (numerical): 0.36 mg/g (0.36-0.36 mg/g) [sources: Gallagher_2018]

physiology

leaf_photosynthetic_rate_per_area_maximum (numerical): 17.48 umol{CO2}/m2/s (11.05-23.03 umol{CO2}/m2/s) [sources: Huang_2015]
leaf_stomatal_conductance_per_area_at_Amax (numerical): 45.36 mmol{H2O}/m2/s (6.39-181.95 mmol{H2O}/m2/s) [sources: Huang_2015]

seed morphology

seed_dry_mass (numerical): 61.94 mg (26.4-82 mg) [sources: ANBG_2019; Kew_2019_1; Leishman_1993; Leishman_1995; Ooi_2007]
seed_length (numerical): 9.65 mm (9.65-9.65 mm) [sources: ANBG_2019]
seed_width (numerical): 7.92 mm (7.92-7.92 mm) [sources: ANBG_2019]
seed_shape (categorical): ovoid_elongated (1); winged (2) [sources: ABRS_2023; ANBG_2019; NHNSW_2023]

stem morphology

stem_mass_fraction (numerical): 0.14 g/g (0.06-0.22 g/g) [sources: Huang_2015]

whole plant morphology

plant_height (numerical): 3.33 m (3-4 m) [sources: ABRS_2023; Hughes_1992; NHNSW_2023]

Sources

dataset_id	n_traits	n_records	reference
Huang_2015	25	1150	G. Huang, P. D. Rymer, H. Duan, R. A. Smith, and D. T. Tissue. “Elevated temperature is more effective than elevated CO2 in exposing genotypic variation in Telopea speciosissima growth plasticity: implications for woody plant populations under climate change”. Global Change Biology 21.10 (2015), pp. 3800-3813. doi: 10.1111/gcb.12990.
Ooi_2007	2	109	M. K. J. Ooi, P. Myerscough, and T. Auld. “Unpublished data: Longterm seed mass field campaign, University of New South Wales”. 2007.
Gallagher_2018	5	20	R. Gallagher, A. Phillips, B. Laugier-Kitchener, C. Laws, D. Lanceman, D. M. Londono, E. McFarlane, J. Foster, K. Marais, L. Pollitt, L. Kovac, M. Lambert, S. Amini, T. Boreham, T. Pyne, H. McPherson, M. Rossetto, M. van der Merwe, I. Wright, and and Matthew Alfonzetti. “Unpublished data: Trait campaign with the Royal Botanical Gardens, Macquarie University”. 2018.
ABRS_2023	14	17	Australian Biological Resources Study. Flora of Australia, Australian Biological Resources Study, Canberra.. accessed on 14 September, 2022.. 2023. url: http://www.ausflora.org.au.
NHNSW_2023	11	14	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/.
NSWFRD_2014	12	13	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.
Jordan_2020	11	11	G. J. Jordan, R. J. Carpenter, B. R. Holland, N. J. Beeton, M. D. Woodhams, and T. J. Brodribb. “Links between environment and stomatal size through evolutionary time in Proteaceae”. Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences 287.1919 (2020), p. 20192876. doi: 10.1098/rspb.2019.2876.
Kubiak_2009	3	7	P. J. Kubiak. “Fire responses of bushland plants after the January 1994 wildfires in northern Sydney”. Cunninghamia 11.1 (2009), pp. 131-165.
ANBG_2019	6	6	Australian National Botanic Gardens. The National Seed Bank. 2018. url: http://www.anbg.gov.au/gardens/living/seedbank/.
Leishman_1995	6	6	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.
Chen_2017	5	5	Chen, S.-C., Cornwell, W., Z. H.-X., Moles, and A. T. “Plants show more flesh in the tropics: Variation in fruit type along latitudinal and climatic gradients.”. Ecography 40 (2017), pp. 531-538. doi: abs/10.1111/ecog.02010.
Hughes_1992	5	5	L. Hughes and B. Rice. “Unpublished data: Traits data for 643 species, Macquarie University”. 1992.
ABRS_2022	4	4	Australian Biological Resources Study. Flora of Australia, Australian Biological Resources Study, Canberra.. accessed on 14 September, 2022.. 2022. url: http://www.ausflora.org.au.
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/.
ABRS_1981	2	2	B. A. Barlow, H. T. Clifford, A. S. George, and A. K. A. McCusker. Flora of Australia. 1981. url: http://www.environment.gov.au/biodiversity/abrs/online-resources/flora/main/.
Kew_2019_1	1	2	Royal Botanic Gardens Kew. Seed Information Database (SID) and Seed Bank Database. 2019. url: http://data.kew.org/sid/.
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.
Munroe_2019	1	1	S. 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.
Schmidt_1993	1	1	S. Schmidt. “Unpublished data: Compilation of mycorrhizal status data, University of Queensland”. 1993.
Wenk_2023	1	1	E. Wenk. “Unpublished data: Australian plant life history dataset, University of New South Wales, Sydney”. 2023.