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

Helicia subcordata Foreman

Muelleria Vol. 6: 89-91 (1985) Fig. 7.

Other Literature: D.B. Foreman, Handbooks of the Flora of Papua New Guinea 265 (1995) Fig. 68.

Family: Proteaceae
Dicotyledon

Timber Group: Non-timber species

Field Characters: Large canopy tree (10-25 m high) or Small sub-canopy tree; Bole cylindrical (up to c. 30 cm diam.); straight (bole up to c. 15 m long); buttresses buttresses absent; spines spines absent; aerial roots aerial roots absent; stilt roots stilt roots absent; Bark dark brown, rough, pustular, lenticels elongated vertically; Subrhytidome (under-bark) red or brown; less than 25 mm thick, 5.0-8.0; bark blaze consisting of one layer; faintly to non-aromatic; outer blaze slightly yellow or yellowish brown, markings absent, granular with splinters; inner blaze slightly yellow or yellowish brown, markings absent, granular with splinters; 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) present when young or absent, hairs sparse.

Leaves: Leaves clustered at end of branches or spaced along branches, spiral (leaves occurring singly at a node and arranged spirally up the branchlet) (leaves almost sub-opposite because internodes very short), simple (a leaf composed of a single blade); petiole almost absent or present (very short), winged (slightly (leaf lamina subcordate), attached to base of leaf blade, swollen; leaves broadest above middle, 24.0-34.0 cm, 10.0-11.0 cm; symmetric, entire, not dissected or lobed, rounded or broadly obtuse, venation pinnate, secondary veins open, not prominent, but visible, intramarginal veins absent; leaves lower surface dark green (glossy) or brown (pale (greenish-brown), upper surface dark green (sub-glossy) or green, indumentum (hairs) absent; absent; domatia absent; stipules absent.

Flowers: Inflorescence on the trunk or branches (ramiflorous), flowers on an unbranched axis, cones absent; flowers bisexual, stalked, flowers with one plane of symmetry, 28.0-30.0 mm long, diameter small (up to10 mm diam.) (6-8 mm diam.); perianth present, with all sepals and/or petals (hence tepals) similar, inner perianth white or cream-coloured; 4, some or partly joined; stamens 4, absent, free of each other, joined to the perianth; ovary superior, carpels joined (when more than one), locules 1; styles solitary, 1.

Fruits: Infrutescence presumably arranged on unbranched axis.

Distribution: Morobe.

Botanical records in PNGplants database Map details

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Notes: Notes This very distinctive species has only been collected from near Wagau (Morobe province). The fruits of this species have not been seen.