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

Garcinia latissima Miq.

Annales Musei Botanici Lugduno-Batavi Vol. 1: 209

Family: Clusiaceae
Dicotyledon

Timber Group: Occasional timber species

Field Characters: Emergent tree (rarely to 40 m high) or Large canopy tree (usually 25-35 m high); Bole cylindrical (50-80 cm diam.); straight (bole up to c. 20 m long); buttresses buttresses present (sometimes then buttresses short) or buttresses absent; spines spines absent; aerial roots aerial roots absent; stilt roots stilt roots present; Bark brown or black, rough, tessellated; Subrhytidome (under-bark) red or brown; less than 25 mm thick, 7.0-14.0; bark blaze consisting of one layer; faintly to non-aromatic; outer blaze pale red, markings absent, smooth or granular without splinters; inner blaze pale red, markings absent, smooth or granular without splinters; bark exudate (sap) present, white/milky or pale yellow, slightly flowing or not readily flowing (spotty), colour not changing on exposure to air, sticky; terminal buds not enclosed by leaves.

Indumentum: Complex hairs absent; stinging hairs absent; mature twig indumentum (hairs) absent.

Leaves: Leaves spaced along branches, opposite (in pairs, opposite one another on the branchlet), simple (a leaf composed of a single blade); petiole present (25 mm long), not winged, attached to base of leaf blade, not swollen; leaves broadest at or near middle, 17.0-21.0 cm, 10.0-11.0 cm; symmetric, entire, not dissected or lobed, rounded, venation pinnate, secondary veins open, not prominent, but visible, intramarginal veins absent; leaves lower surface green, upper surface dark green, indumentum (hairs) absent; absent; domatia absent; stipules absent.

Flowers: Inflorescence terminal or axillary (distally), flowers single or flowers on a branched axis, cones absent; flowers unisexual, unisexual with male and female flowers on the same plant, stalked, flowers with many planes of symmetry; perianth present, with distinct sepals and petals whorls, inner perianth white, pale yellow, or cream-coloured; 5, free; stamens 100, present (but very short), free of each other, free of the perianth; ovary superior, carpels joined (when more than one), locules 2; styles absent (stigma sessile).

Fruits: Infrutescence single, fruit 25.0-50.0 mm long, 35.0-60.0 mm diam., dark red, not spiny, fleshy, simple, indehiscent, berry; seeds 3-8, much more than 10 mm long (20 mm long), not winged, broad (as wide as long), seed more than 10 mm diam. (20 mm diam.).

Distribution: West Sepik, East Sepik, Madang, Morobe, Western Highlands, Eastern Highlands, Southern Highlands, Western, Gulf, Central, Milne Bay, Papuan Islands & New Britain.

Botanical records in PNGplants database Map details

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Notes: Notes Often included in the family Guttiferae.