Barry Conn (NSW) & Kipiro Damas (LAE).
Copyright held by the authors, Royal Botanic Gardens and Domain Trust, and Papua New Guinea National Herbarium

Sonneratia alba Sm.

Cyclopedia Vol. 33, No. 2: (1812)

Other Literature: M. Percival and J.S. Womersley, Floristics and Ecology of the Mangrove Vegetation of Papua New Guinea 85-and-88 (1975) Fig. 65.

Field Characters: Large trees 15-24 m high or small trees. Bole cylindrical 30-45 cm diam.; straight bole usually short; buttresses absent; spines absent; aerial roots absent; stilt roots absent surrounded by pneumatophores (borne on horizontal roots) which are stout and conical, up to 40 cm high. Bark grey or brown, rough, fissured longitudinally and horizontally or scaly or flaky; subrhytidome pink or brown; bark thickness <25 mm thick, 12.0-20.0 mm thick; blaze consisting of 2 layers or consisting of one layer; faintly to non-aromatic; outer blaze red or brown, with stripes yellow-brown, fibrous; inner blaze red, brown, pink, or pale yellow sometimes, with stripes yellow-brown, fibrous; exudate absent. Terminal buds not enclosed by leaves; complex hairs absent; stinging hairs absent; mature twig without hairs.

Leaves: Spaced along branches <internodes readily visible>. Leaves opposite, simple; petiole present 4-10 mm long, not winged, attached to base of leaf blade <not peltate>, not swollen; lamina broadest above middle or broadest at or near middle, 5.0-12.0 cm long, 3.0-9.0 cm wide; lamina symmetric, margin entire, not dissected or lobed, apex emarginate or retuse or rounded, venation pinnate <secondary veins arising from the midrib along its length>, secondary veins open <spaced far apart to easily see tertiary veins>, not prominent, but visible, intramarginal veins absent; lower surface green paler than upper surface, upper surface pale green or dark green, hairs absent; oil dots absent; domatia absent; stipules absent.

Flowers: Inflorescence terminal <at branch ends>. Flowers on an unbranched axis groups of three or flowers single <solitary> flowers bisexual, stalked, with many planes of symmetry <actinomorphic>, 25.0-30.0 mm long, small (< or =10 mm diam.); perianth present, with distinct sepals and petals petals inconspicuous 13-20 mm long, white or cream-coloured; inner perianth 6, some or partly joined with 6 lobes; stamens 100, filaments present 20-30 mm long, free of each other, free of perianth; ovary superior <seated above petals and sepals; hypogenous>, carpels joined (when more than one) <syncarpous> styles solitary <including joined together>, 1 (robust, 25-40 mm long).

Fruits: Fruits single <solitary> or fruits arranged on unbranched axis. Fruit 20-28 mm long, dark green, not spiny, slightly fleshy, simple, indehiscent, berry. Seeds 100 (embedded in unpleasantly aromatic pulp), not winged, as wide as long.

Distribution: Gulf, Central, Milne Bay, Morobe, New Britain, Western & New Ireland.

Botanical records in PNGplants database Map details