Classifying Plants into Groups on the Basis of Associations of Individual Traits--Evidence from Australian Semi-Arid Woodlands

A multivariate analysis of 43 traits of 300 species from semi-arid woodlands in western New South Wales, Australia is described. The 43 traits encompass vegetative, life-history, phenological and seed-biology characters. Five main groups of species were produced which corresponded largely to growth form. These groups were perennial forbs and C3 grasses, subshrubs of the family Chenopodiaceae, perennial C4 grasses, trees and shrubs and annual forbs and grasses. The traits associated with these groups were vegetative, life-history and phenological. Seed-biology traits were poorly associated with the groups (...)