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

Astronidium morobiense J.F.Maxwell

Blumea Vol. 35: 140 (1990)

Field Characters: Small trees 15 m high. Bole cylindrical 12 cm diam.; straight bole 1.5 m long; buttresses absent; spines absent; aerial roots absent; stilt roots absent. Bark brown, rough, scaly or flaky; subrhytidome dark brown; bark thickness <25 mm thick, 5.0 mm thick; blaze consisting of one layer; strongly aromatic; pleasant; outer blaze pale brown, markings absent, fibrous; inner blaze pale brown, markings absent, 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 15-16 mm long, not winged, attached to base of leaf blade <not peltate>, not swollen; lamina broadest at or near middle, 12.5-20.0 cm long, 7.0-10.5 cm wide; lamina symmetric, margin entire, not dissected or lobed, apex obtuse or broadly acuminate, venation trinerved <three large veins arising from the base>, secondary veins open <spaced far apart to easily see tertiary veins>, prominent, intramarginal veins absent; lower surface dull pale green, upper surface dull green, hairs absent; oil dots absent; domatia absent; stipules absent.

Flowers: Inflorescence terminal <at branch ends>. Flowers on a branched axis; flowers bisexual, stalked, with many planes of symmetry <actinomorphic> except for stamens, 8.0 mm long, small (< or =10 mm diam.) 6-8 mm diam.; perianth present, with distinct sepals and petals sepals joined together and cup-like, hairy, yellow; inner perianth 5, free; stamens c. 10, filaments present, free of each other, free of perianth; ovary inferior <seated below the petals and sepals; epigenous>, carpels joined (when more than one) <syncarpous>, locules 5; styles solitary <including joined together>, 1.

Fruits: Fruits arranged on branched axis. Fruit dark green possibly not mature, not spiny, slightly fleshy or non-fleshy, simple, dehiscent, capsule opening by slits. Seeds 100, to about 5 mm long, not winged.

Distribution: Morobe.

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