Miconia calvescens DC. APNI* Description: Shrub or tree 1–8 (-16) metres high, the young branchlets, inflorescences, bracts (externally), and hypanthia stellate-puberulous; young branchlets square, but terete with age, with a faint interpetiolar line at the nodes.
Leaves very large with blade oblong-elliptic, 17–30 (-40) cm long, 7–15 (-25) cm wide, shortly blunt-acuminate at the apex, obtuse to rounded or occasionally subcordate at the base, chartaceous, and obscurely undulate-serrulate, 3-nerved (excluding the tenuous intra-marginal vein), inter-secondary veins prominent and parallel, minor venation laxly reticulate beneath; petioles 2–6 cm long.
Inflorescence a terminal panicle 20–30 (-50) cm long, multiflorous, with paired primary branches; petals 5, bracteoles 2–3 mm long, oblong and caducous; hypanthium 2–2.7 mm long; calyx tube 0.6–0.7 mm long, the broad-triangular interior lobes 0.1–0.3 mm long, the adnate external teeth not projecting; corolla with petals white, sometimes sparsely gland-edged, 2.3–3.1 mm long, 1–1.9 mm wide, oblong-obovate; stamens slightly dimorphic; filaments 2.8–4.2 mm or 2.6–3.9 mm, glabrous or very sparsely glandular; gynoecium with style glabrous or sparsely glandular, 5–7 mm long; stigma subpeltate; ovary 3-celled and 1/2–2/3 inferior, the apex granulose or sparsely glandular.
Berry subglobose, c. 3 mm in diam., crowned by persistent calyx, blue-black when ripe, multi-seeded. Seeds irregularly ovoid-ellipsoid, angulose, c. 0.5 mm long, 0.4 mm wide, testa shiny brown, rugulose.
Distribution and occurrence: Naturalised in wet gullies in forest on north coast of NSW and into Queensland.
NSW subdivisions: *NC
Noxious weed.
Text by Louisa Murray
Taxon concept: Flora of the Hawanian Islands: http://botany.si.edu/pacificislandbiodiversity/hawaiianflora
APNI* Provides a link to the Australian Plant Name Index (hosted by the Australian National Botanic Gardens) for comprehensive bibliographic data
***The AVH map option provides a detailed interactive Australia wide distribution map drawn from collections held by all major Australian herbaria participating in the Australian Virtual Herbarium project.
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