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 ptilanthus Schltr.

Botanische Jahrbucher für Systematik, Pflanzengeschichte und Pflanzengeographie Vol. 54: 125 (1916)

Other Literature: M.J.E. Coode, Handbooks of the Flora of Papua New Guinea 85-87 (1981) Fig. 20.

Family: Elaeocarpaceae
Dicotyledon

Timber Group: Commercial hardwood

Field Characters: Large canopy tree (up to 30 m high); Bole cylindrical (up to c. 75 cm diam.); straight (bole mostly 8-10 m long); buttresses often buttresses present or buttresses absent; spines spines absent; aerial roots aerial roots absent; stilt roots stilt roots absent; Bark pale brown, slightly rough or smooth, slightly pustular, lenticels elongated vertically; less than 25 mm thick, 6.0-9.0; bark blaze consisting of one layer; faintly to non-aromatic; outer blaze yellow or pale brown, markings absent, fibrous; inner blaze yellow or pale 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) present or absent, hairs dense to sparse (finely hairy).

Leaves: Leaves clustered at end of branches or slightly 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 above middle or broadest at or near middle, (4.0-) 5.0-10.0 cm, 2.0-4.0 cm; symmetric, serrate to dentate (toothed) (slightly (finely toothed), not dissected or lobed, obtuse to acute, venation pinnate, secondary veins open, prominent, intramarginal veins absent; leaves lower surface green, upper surface dark green, indumentum (hairs) absent or present when very young, indumentum (hairs) dense to sparse; absent; domatia absent; stipules absent.

Flowers: Inflorescence axillary (below the leaves), flowers on an unbranched axis, cones absent; flowers bisexual, stalked, flowers with many planes of symmetry, 14.0-18.0 mm long, diameter small (up to10 mm diam.); perianth present, with distinct sepals and petals whorls, inner perianth white or pale green; 5, free; stamens 35 (c.), present, free of each other, free of the perianth; ovary superior, carpels joined (when more than one), locules 5; styles solitary, 1.

Fruits: Infrutescence arranged on unbranched axis, fruit (25.0-) 30.0-40.0 (-50.0) mm long, blue (or purplish), not spiny, fleshy, simple, indehiscent, drupe; seeds 1-4, much more than 10 mm long (including stone), not winged, broad (as wide as long), seed more than 10 mm diam.

Distribution: West Sepik, Morobe, Western Highlands, Eastern Highlands & Southern Highlands.

Botanical records in PNGplants database Map details

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