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

Drypetes lasiogynoides Pax & K.Hoffm.

in Engler, H.G.A., Das Pflanzenreich 272 (1922)

Family: Putranjivaceae
Dicotyledon

Timber Group: Minor hardwood

Field Characters: Large canopy tree (up to c. 20 m high) or Small sub-canopy tree; Bole cylindrical (20-30 cm diam.); straight (bole 8-15 m long); buttresses buttresses absent; spines spines absent; aerial roots aerial roots absent; stilt roots stilt roots absent; Bark grey, rough, scaly or flaky or fissured; Subrhytidome (under-bark) yellow or green; less than 25 mm thick, 4.0-6.0; bark blaze consisting of one layer; faintly to non-aromatic; outer blaze white or pale yellow, markings absent; inner blaze white or pale yellow, markings absent; bark exudate (sap) present, colourless, not readily flowing (spotty), colour not changing on exposure to air, 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), simple (a leaf composed of a single blade) (frequently taste peppery or slightly radish-like); petiole present, not winged, attached to base of leaf blade, not swollen; leaves broadest at or near middle, 8.5-11.0 cm, 3.5-5.0 cm; symmetric (to slightly asymmetric), entire, not dissected or lobed, obtuse or sub acute, 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 axillary, flowers arising from a single point, cones absent; flowers unisexual, unisexual with male and female flowers on different plants, stalked, flowers with many planes of symmetry, 6.0-8.0 mm long, diameter small (up to10 mm diam.) (4-5 mm diam.); perianth present, with all sepals and/or petals (hence tepals) similar or petals absent, inner perianth pale yellow or cream-coloured; 4-5, free or some or partly joined (at base); stamens 100, present, free of each other, free of the perianth; ovary superior, carpels joined (when more than one), locules 1; styles absent.

Fruits: Infrutescence arising from single point, fruit 12.0-25.0 mm long, orange (often with red dots) or red, not spiny (mealy), fleshy, simple, indehiscent, drupe; seeds 1, about 10 mm long, not winged, broad (as wide as long), seed 1-10 mm diam.

Distribution: Morobe, Gulf & Milne Bay.

Botanical records in PNGplants database Map details

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Notes: Notes Drypetes has usually been included in Euphorbiaceae (in subfamily Phyllanthoideae).