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

Endospermum moluccanum (Teijsm. & Binn.) Beec.

Malesia Vol. 2: 38 (1884)

Family: Euphorbiaceae
Dicotyledon

Timber Group: Non-timber species

Field Characters: Large canopy tree (up to 25 m high) or Small sub-canopy tree; Bole cylindrical (up to c. 60 cm diam.); straight (bole up to c. 20 m long); buttresses buttresses present; spines spines absent; aerial roots aerial roots absent; stilt roots stilt roots absent; Bark pale grey, smooth; Subrhytidome (under-bark) green; less than 25 mm thick, 8.0-15.0; bark blaze consisting of one layer; strongly aromatic; unpleasant; outer blaze white or pale yellow, with stripes (orange); inner blaze white or pale yellow, with stripes (orange); 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 (upper branchlets often hollow and inhabited by black ants).

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 surface of leaf blade, not swollen; leaves broadest at or near middle (more or less circular) or broadest below middle, 8.0-15.0 cm, 7.0-16.0 cm; symmetric, entire, not dissected or lobed, rounded or acuminate (sub (very shortly), venation palmate, secondary veins open, prominent, intramarginal veins absent; leaves lower surface pale green, upper surface green, indumentum (hairs) absent; present (2 glands at point of insertion of petiole to lamina); domatia absent; stipules absent.

Flowers: Inflorescence axillary, flowers on an unbranched axis, cones absent; flowers bisexual, stalked, flowers with many planes of symmetry, 2.0-3.0 mm long, diameter small (up to10 mm diam.) (1-2 mm diam.); perianth present, petals absent, inner perianth white or yellow (pale (calyx); stamens 100, present (of varying lengths), joined (variously joined to form a central column); ovary superior, carpels joined (when more than one), locules 1; styles absent.

Fruits: Infrutescence arranged on unbranched axis, fruit 12.0-15.0 mm long, yellow or green, not spiny, fleshy, simple, indehiscent, drupe; seeds 1, about 10 mm long, not winged, broad (as wide as long), seed 1-10 mm diam. (8-10 mm diam.).

Distribution: West Sepik, Morobe, Southern Highlands & New Britain.

Botanical records in PNGplants database Map details

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