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

Conandrium polyanthum (Laut. & K.Sch.) Mez

in Engler, H.G.A., Das Pflanzenreich 157

Family: Myrsinaceae
Dicotyledon

Timber Group: Non-timber species

Field Characters: Small sub-canopy tree (7-10 m high); Bole cylindrical (45-50 cm diam.); straight (bole 2-4 m long); buttresses buttresses absent; spines spines absent; aerial roots aerial roots absent; stilt roots stilt roots absent; Bark grey or brown, smooth; Subrhytidome (under-bark) yellow or green; less than 25 mm thick; bark blaze consisting of one layer; faintly to non-aromatic; outer blaze red or brown (to straw-coloured), markings absent; inner blaze red or brown (to straw-coloured), 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, spiral (leaves occurring singly at a node and arranged spirally up the branchlet), simple (a leaf composed of a single blade); petiole present, winged, attached to base of leaf blade, not swollen; leaves broadest at or near middle, 10.0-13.0 cm, 4.0-5.0 cm; symmetric, entire, not dissected or lobed, obtuse or sub acuminate, venation pinnate, secondary veins open, not prominent, but visible, intramarginal veins absent; leaves lower surface green, upper surface green, indumentum (hairs) absent; absent; domatia absent; stipules absent.

Flowers: Inflorescence axillary, flowers on a branched axis, cones absent; flowers bisexual, stalked, flowers with many planes of symmetry, 4.0-5.0 mm long, diameter small (up to10 mm diam.) (c. 5 mm diam.); perianth present, with distinct sepals and petals whorls, inner perianth red or purple; 5, free; stamens 5, present, free of each other, free of the perianth; ovary superior, carpels joined (when more than one), locules 1; styles solitary, 1.

Fruits: Infrutescence arranged on branched axis, fruit 5.0-8.0 mm long, dark green or black, not spiny, fleshy, simple, indehiscent, drupe (berry-like); seeds 1, to about 5 mm long (c. 2 mm long), not winged, broad (as wide as long), seed 1-10 mm diam. (3-5 mm diam.).

Distribution: Morobe, Eastern Highlands, Central, Papuan Islands, New Britain & New Ireland.

Botanical records in PNGplants database Map details

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