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

Elaeocarpus leucanthus A.C.Sm.

Journal of the Arnold Arboretum Vol. 25: 227 (1944)

Family: Elaeocarpaceae
Dicotyledon

Timber Group: Occasional timber species

Field Characters: Large canopy tree (up to c. 20 m high); Bole markedly fluted (up to c. 50 cm diam.); straight (bole c. 15 m long); buttresses buttresses present; spines spines absent; aerial roots aerial roots absent; stilt roots stilt roots absent; Bark dark brown, rough, pustular, lenticels elongated vertically; Subrhytidome (under-bark) red; less than 25 mm thick, 10.0; bark blaze consisting of one layer; faintly to non-aromatic; outer blaze red or brown, markings absent, fibrous; inner blaze red or brown, markings absent, fibrous; 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, swollen (at both tip and base); leaves broadest below middle, 13.0-23.0 cm, 7.0-11.0 cm; symmetric, entire or crenate, not dissected or lobed, acuminate, venation pinnate, secondary veins open, prominent, intramarginal veins absent; leaves lower surface pale green, upper surface green (sub-glossy), indumentum (hairs) absent; absent; domatia absent; stipules absent.

Flowers: Inflorescence axillary, flowers on an unbranched axis, cones absent; flowers bisexual, stalked, flowers with many planes of symmetry, 9.0-10.0 mm long, diameter small (up to10 mm diam.) (c. 10 mm diam.); perianth present, with distinct sepals and petals whorls, inner perianth white or pale yellow; 5, free; stamens 100, present, free of each other, free of the perianth; ovary superior, carpels joined (when more than one), locules 3; styles solitary, 1.

Fruits: Infrutescence arranged on unbranched axis, fruit 70.0-80.0 mm long, 50.0 (c.) mm diam., dull blue, not spiny, non-fleshy (leathery), simple, indehiscent, drupe; seeds 1, much more than 10 mm long (c. 50 mm long), not winged, broad (as wide as long), seed more than 10 mm diam. (c. 30 mm diam.).

Distribution: Morobe, Western & Gulf.

Botanical records in PNGplants database Map details

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