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

Glochidion drypetifolium Airy Shaw

Kew Bulletin Vol. 27(1): 24 (1972)

Family: Phyllanthaceae
Dicotyledon

Timber Group: Non-timber species

Field Characters: Small sub-canopy tree (up to c. 25 m high); Bole cylindrical (to slightly fluted, up to c. 45 cm diam.); straight (bole up to c. 18 m long); buttresses buttresses absent; spines spines absent; aerial roots aerial roots absent; stilt roots stilt roots absent; Bark pale grey, rough, scaly or flaky (towards base) or fissured; Subrhytidome (under-bark) grey; less than 25 mm thick; bark blaze consisting of one layer; faintly to non-aromatic; outer blaze white or pale yellow, markings absent, fibrous; inner blaze white or pale yellow, markings absent, fibrous; bark exudate (sap) present, slightly white/milky or 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.

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, not swollen; leaves broadest at or near middle, 15.0-25.0 cm, 8.0-12.0 cm; symmetric, entire, not dissected or lobed, acuminate (shortly), venation pinnate, secondary veins open, prominent, intramarginal veins absent; leaves lower surface pale green, upper surface dark green (glossy), indumentum (hairs) absent; absent; domatia absent; stipules present, free, laterally placed, not encircling the twig, leafy, not fringed, large (up to c. 6 mm long), not persistent or less often persistent.

Flowers: Inflorescence axillary, flowers arising from a single point, cones absent; flowers unisexual, unisexual with male and female flowers on different plants, stalked, flowers with many planes of symmetry, 5.0 (c.) mm long, diameter small (up to10 mm diam.) (c. 5 mm diam.); perianth present, with all sepals and/or petals (hence tepals) similar or petals absent, inner perianth white or pale yellow; 4-5, free; stamens 8 (c.), present, free of each other, free of the perianth; ovary superior, carpels joined (when more than one), locules 8; styles absent.

Fruits: Infrutescence arising from single point, fruit 30.0-35.0 mm long, red (pale (tinge) or grey, not spiny, non-fleshy, simple, dehiscent, capsule; seeds 8 (c.), to about 5 mm long, not winged, narrow (longer than wide), seed 1-10 mm diam. (up to c. 4 mm diam.).

Distribution: Morobe.

Botanical records in PNGplants database Map details