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

Gnetum gnemon L. var. gnemon

Mantissa in Volumen Primum. Systematis Vegetabilium Caroli a Linne ex Editione Joan. Jac. Roemer.... Vol. 1: 125 (1767)

Other Literature: F. Markgraf, Flora Malesiana, Series 1, 340-341 (1951)

Family: Gnetaceae
Conifer

Timber Group: Non-timber species

Field Characters: Large canopy tree (up to 30 m high) or Small sub-canopy tree (up to 15 m high, often a large shrub/small treelet); Bole cylindrical (distinct nodes, mostly 12-30 cm diam.); sometimes crooked or straight (bole 3-15 m long); buttresses buttresses absent; spines spines absent; aerial roots aerial roots absent; stilt roots stilt roots absent; Bark grey (often slightly mottled) or greyish brown, slightly rough or smooth, fissured (marked with conspicuous or faint rings or ridges) or pustular (slightly (rare), lenticels rounded/swelling; Subrhytidome (under-bark) orange, green, brown, or mottled; less than 25 mm thick, 20.0-25.0; bark blaze consisting of one layer; faintly to non-aromatic; outer blaze white or yellow (pale (cream-coloured), speckled (orange), fibrous; inner blaze white or yellow (pale (cream-coloured), speckled (orange), fibrous; bark exudate (sap) absent; 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, not winged, attached to base of leaf blade, not swollen; leaves broadest at or near middle, 7.5-20.0 cm, 2.5-10.0 cm; symmetric, entire, not dissected or lobed, acuminate, 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 absent.

Flowers: Inflorescence axillary, flowers on an unbranched axis, cones absent; flowers unisexual, unisexual with male and female flowers on different plants, not stalked, flowers with many planes of symmetry to slightly asymmetric, 3.0-4.0 mm long, diameter small (up to10 mm diam.); perianth present, with all sepals and/or petals (hence tepals) similar (highly modified), inner perianth white to yellow; 1-(male; female)-2, free; stamens 1, present, free of each other, free of the perianth; ovary superior, carpels joined (when more than one), locules 1; styles solitary, 1.

Fruits: Infrutescence arranged on unbranched axis (fruits arranged whorl-like groups of 4), fruit 10.0-40.0 mm long, yellow to orange to red, not spiny, slightly fleshy, simple, indehiscent, drupe; seeds 1, to about 5 mm long, not winged, broad (as wide as long), seed more than 10 mm diam.

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

Botanical records in PNGplants database Map details

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Notes: Notes The outer bark is smooth, except for regularly set raised rings (100-300 mm apart) which are caused by the growth and fall of the opposite branches. A distinct swelling occurs at the junction of each branch with the trunk.