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 murukkai Coode

Brunonia Vol. 1: 197 (1978)

Other Literature: M.J.E. Coode, Handbooks of the Flora of Papua New Guinea 91 (1981)

Family: Elaeocarpaceae
Dicotyledon

Timber Group: Commercial hardwood

Field Characters: Large canopy tree (up to 35 m high) or Small sub-canopy tree (12-20 m high); Bole cylindrical (up to c. 40 cm diam.); straight (mostly bole up to c. 15 m long); buttresses buttresses present (possibly) or buttresses absent; spines spines absent; aerial roots aerial roots absent; stilt roots stilt roots present or stilt roots absent; Bark brown, rough, fissured; Subrhytidome (under-bark) green (sometimes with slight cream tinge); less than 25 mm thick, 10.0-12.0; bark blaze consisting of one layer; faintly to non-aromatic; outer blaze white (straw-coloured) or pale yellow, markings absent, fibrous; inner blaze white (straw-coloured), markings absent, fibrous; bark exudate (sap) absent; terminal buds not enclosed by leaves.

Indumentum: Complex hairs absent; stinging hairs absent; mature twig indumentum (hairs) present when young or later absent, hairs dense.

Leaves: Leaves clustered at end of 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 (lamina base decurrent), attached to base of leaf blade, not swollen; leaves broadest above middle or broadest at or near middle, (7.0-) 10.0-17.0 cm, (3.0-) 4.0-7.0 cm; symmetric, serrate to dentate (toothed) (slightly (obscurely so), not dissected or lobed, obtuse, venation pinnate, secondary veins open, prominent, intramarginal veins absent; leaves lower surface pale green, upper surface green, indumentum (hairs) absent or present, indumentum (hairs) dense (hairs rusty-red coloured); absent; domatia absent; stipules absent.

Flowers: Inflorescence axillary, flowers on an unbranched axis, cones absent; flowers bisexual, stalked, flowers with many planes of symmetry, 8.0 (c.) mm long, diameter small (up to10 mm diam.); perianth present, with distinct sepals and petals whorls; 5, free; stamens 30 (c.), present, free of each other, free of the perianth; ovary superior, carpels joined (when more than one), locules 4-5; styles solitary, 1.

Fruits: Infrutescence arranged on unbranched axis, fruit 45.0-60.0 mm long, blue, not spiny, fleshy, simple, indehiscent, drupe; seeds 1, much more than 10 mm long, not winged, broad (as wide as long), seed more than 10 mm diam.

Distribution: Morobe, Eastern Highlands & Central.

Botanical records in PNGplants database Map details

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