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

Arthrophyllum proliferum Philipson

Gardens' Bulletin, Singapore Vol. 30: 302 (1977)

Other Literature: W.R. Philipson, Handbooks of the Flora of Papua New Guinea 7 (1995)

Family: Araliaceae
Dicotyledon

Timber Group: Non-timber species

Field Characters: Small sub-canopy tree (up to 12 m high); Bole cylindrical (7-10 cm diam.); straight (bole c. 8 m long); buttresses buttresses absent; spines spines absent; aerial roots aerial roots absent; stilt roots stilt roots absent; Bark grey or brown, rough, slightly scaly or flaky, fissured, or peeling; Subrhytidome (under-bark) red or brown; less than 25 mm thick, 10.0 (c.); bark blaze consisting of one layer; faintly to non-aromatic; outer blaze white, yellow (pale cream-coloured), or slightly green, markings absent, fibrous; inner blaze white, yellow (pale cream-coloured), or slightly green, markings absent, fibrous; bark exudate (sap) present, colourless, not readily flowing (spotty), colour changing on exposure to air, to yellowish golden-coloured, not sticky; terminal buds not enclosed by leaves.

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

Leaves: Leaves spaced along branches, spiral (leaves occurring singly at a node and arranged spirally up the branchlet), compound (a leaf made up from two or more leaflets); petiole present, not winged, attached to base of leaf blade, swollen; leaves pinnate (unbranched with more than three leaflets); petiolule not swollen; rachis present, absent, absent; leaves with a terminal leaflet (the number of leaflets odd - imparipinnate), broadest above middle or broadest at or near middle, 90.0 cm, 24.0 cm, leaflets opposite, symmetric, terminal developing leaflet buds straight; venation pinnate, secondary veins open, prominent, intramarginal veins absent; leaves lower surface green, upper surface dark green (glossy), indumentum (hairs) absent; absent; domatia absent; stipules absent.

Flowers: Inflorescence terminal, flowers on a branched axis, cones absent; flowers bisexual, stalked, flowers with many planes of symmetry, 5.0-6.0 mm long, diameter small (up to10 mm diam.); perianth present, with distinct sepals and petals whorls, inner perianth yellow or green; 5, free; stamens 5, present, free of each other, free of the perianth; ovary inferior, carpels joined (when more than one), locules 1; styles absent.

Fruits: Infrutescence arranged on branched axis, fruit 10.0 (c.) mm long, 5.0 (c.) mm diam., dark green, not spiny, fleshy, simple, indehiscent, drupe; seeds 1, to about 5 mm long (c. 8 mm long), not winged, narrow (longer than wide), seed 1-10 mm diam. (5-6 mm diam.).

Distribution: Madang, Morobe, New Britain & Manus.

Botanical records in PNGplants database Map details

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