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

Cryptocarya depressa Warb.

Botanische Jahrbucher für Systematik, Pflanzengeschichte und Pflanzengeographie Vol. 13: 316 (1891)

Family: Lauraceae
Dicotyledon

Timber Group: Commercial hardwood

Field Characters: Small sub-canopy tree (up to 15 m high); Bole cylindrical (up to c. 20 cm diam.); straight (bole up to c. 8 m long); buttresses slightly buttresses present; spines spines absent; aerial roots aerial roots absent; stilt roots stilt roots absent; Bark pale brown or grey, smooth; Subrhytidome (under-bark) brown; less than 25 mm thick; bark blaze consisting of one layer; faintly to non-aromatic; pleasant; outer blaze pink or pale brown, markings absent; inner blaze pink or pale brown, 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, not winged, attached to base of leaf blade, not swollen; leaves broadest at or near middle, 8.0-20.0 (-25.0) cm, 4.0-10.0 (-12.5) cm; symmetric, entire, not dissected or lobed, obtuse or slightly acuminate, venation pinnate, secondary veins open, prominent, intramarginal veins absent; leaves lower surface green, upper surface dull dark green, indumentum (hairs) absent; absent; domatia absent; stipules absent.

Flowers: Inflorescence axillary, flowers on a branched axis, cones absent; flowers bisexual, stalked (shortly), flowers with many planes of symmetry, 2.5-3.0 mm long, diameter small (up to10 mm diam.) (2.5-3 mm diam.); perianth present, with all sepals and/or petals (hence tepals) similar, inner perianth pale yellow or cream-coloured; 3 (outer perianth 3, inner perianth 3), free; stamens 9, present, free of each other, free of the perianth; ovary superior, carpels solitary, locules 1; styles solitary, 1.

Fruits: Infrutescence arranged on branched axis, fruit 10.0 (c.) mm long, 8.0 (c.) mm diam., black, not spiny, slightly fleshy, simple, indehiscent, drupe; seeds 1, about 10 mm long, not winged, broad (as wide as long), seed 1-10 mm diam. (c. 8 mm diam.).

Distribution: Morobe or Gulf.

Botanical records in PNGplants database Map details

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