Barry Conn (NSW) & Kipiro Damas (LAE).
Guide to trees of Papua New Guinea
Copyright held by the authors, National Herbarium of New South Wales, and Papua New Guinea National Herbarium

Syzygium malaccense (L.) Merr. & L.M. Perry

Journal of the Arnold Arboretum Vol. 19: 215 (1938)

Other Literature: B.P.M. Hyland, Australian Journal of Botany 102-103 (1983) Fig. 32.

Family: Myrtaceae
Dicotyledon

Timber Group: Occasional timber species

Field Characters: Large canopy tree (up to 30 m high) or Small sub-canopy tree; Bole cylindrical (up to 130 cm diam.); straight (bole mostly 10-15 m long); buttresses buttresses present; spines spines absent; aerial roots aerial roots absent; stilt roots stilt roots absent; Bark pale brown, rough, scaly or flaky or strongly fissured; Subrhytidome (under-bark) pale green or pale brown; less than 25 mm thick, 5.0-13.0; bark blaze consisting of one layer; strongly aromatic; unpleasant (sour smell and taste); outer blaze pink or brownish red, markings absent, usually fibrous; inner blaze brownish red or pink, markings absent; bark exudate (sap) absent; terminal buds not enclosed by leaves.

Indumentum: Complex hairs absent; stinging hairs absent; mature twig indumentum (hairs) absent.

Leaves: Leaves spaced along branches, opposite (in pairs, opposite one another on the branchlet), simple (a leaf composed of a single blade); petiole present, not winged, attached to surface of leaf blade, not swollen; leaves broadest at or near middle, 11.0-15.0 cm, 4.4-7.5 cm; symmetric, entire, not dissected or lobed, acuminate (shortly), venation pinnate, secondary veins closed, not prominent, but visible, intramarginal veins absent; leaves lower surface dark green (glossy), upper surface dark green (glossy), indumentum (hairs) absent; present; domatia absent; stipules absent.

Flowers: Inflorescence terminal, flowers on a branched axis, cones absent; flowers bisexual, stalked, flowers with many planes of symmetry, 12.0-18.0 mm long, diameter small (up to10 mm diam.); perianth present, with distinct sepals and petals whorls, inner perianth bright pink; 5, free; stamens 100, present, joined, joined to the perianth; ovary inferior, carpels joined (when more than one), locules 2; styles solitary, 1.

Fruits: Infrutescence arranged on branched axis, fruit 18.0-20.0 mm long, 18.0-25.0 mm diam., red or almost black, not spiny, fleshy, simple, indehiscent, drupe; seeds 1, much more than 10 mm long (11-14 mm long), not winged, irregular, seed more than 10 mm diam. (13-19 mm diam.).

Distribution: West Sepik, East Sepik, Madang, Morobe, Western Highlands, Eastern Highlands, Western, Gulf, Central, Northern, Milne Bay, New Britain, New Ireland & Bougainville.

Botanical records in PNGplants database Map details

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