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

Kingiodendron novoguineense Verdc.

Kew Bulletin Vol. 32: 244 (1977)

Other Literature: B. Verdcourt, A Manual of New Guinea Legumes 97-98 (1979)

Family: Fabaceae
Dicotyledon

Timber Group: Non-timber species

Field Characters: Large canopy tree (13-30 m high) or Small sub-canopy tree; Bole cylindrical (mostly 25-80 cm diam., rarely larger); crooked (bole 9-20 m long); buttresses buttresses absent; spines spines absent; aerial roots aerial roots absent; stilt roots stilt roots absent; Bark dark grey, brown, or black, slightly rough or smooth, pustular, lenticels elongated laterally; Subrhytidome (under-bark) red; less than 25 mm thick, 5.0-8.0; bark blaze consisting of one layer; faintly to non-aromatic; outer blaze red (often mottled), markings absent; inner blaze red (often mottled), markings absent; bark exudate (sap) present, dark green, flowing, 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, spiral (leaves occurring singly at a node and arranged spirally up the branchlet), compound (a leaf made up from two or more leaflets); petiole present, not winged, attached to base of leaf blade, not swollen; leaves with one leaflet to pinnate (unbranched with more than three leaflets); petiolule not swollen; rachis present, absent, absent; leaves without a terminal leaflet (the number of leaflets even - paripinnate) to with a terminal leaflet (the number of leaflets odd - imparipinnate) (when only one leaflet), broadest at or near middle to equally broad throughout much of length, 7.0-17.0 cm, 1.7-8.0 cm, leaflets opposite, slightly asymmetric or symmetric, terminal developing leaflet buds absent; venation pinnate, secondary veins open, prominent, intramarginal veins absent; leaves lower surface pale green or green, upper surface green, indumentum (hairs) absent; absent; domatia absent; stipules absent.

Flowers: Inflorescence axillary, flowers on a branched axis, cones absent; flowers bisexual, stalked, flowers with many planes of symmetry, 2.0-3.0 mm long, diameter small (up to10 mm diam.); perianth present, with distinct sepals and petals whorls or with all sepals and/or petals (hence tepals) similar, inner perianth white or green; 5, free; stamens 10, 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 branched axis, fruit 57.0-80.0 mm long, brown, not spiny, non-fleshy, simple, dehiscent, legume; seeds 1, much more than 10 mm long (30-40 mm long), not winged, broad (as wide as long), seed more than 10 mm diam. (flattened, c. 30 mm wide).

Distribution: Madang, Morobe, Western, Central & New Britain.

Botanical records in PNGplants database Map details

Notes: Notes This species is classified in Fabaceae subfamily Caesalpinoideae.