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

Madhuca leucodermis (K.Krause) H.J.Lam

Nova Guinea Vol. 14: 556 (1932)

Family: Sapotaceae
Dicotyledon

Timber Group: Non-timber species

Field Characters: Large canopy tree (20-30 m high) or Small sub-canopy tree; Bole cylindrical (c. 40 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 grey or brown, rough, scaly or flaky or fissured; less than 25 mm thick, 5.0 (c.); bark blaze consisting of one layer; faintly to non-aromatic; outer blaze pale purple, markings absent, fibrous; inner blaze pale purple, markings absent, fibrous; bark exudate (sap) present, white/milky, 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) present when young or soon absent, hairs dense to sparse.

Leaves: Leaves slightly clustered at end of branches or 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 or winged (slightly (lamina slightly decurrent along upper surface of petiole), attached to base of leaf blade, not swollen; leaves broadest at or near middle or broadest below middle, 15.0-35.0 cm, 5.5-11.0 cm; symmetric, entire, not dissected or lobed, acuminate, venation pinnate, secondary veins open, prominent, intramarginal veins absent; leaves lower surface pale green or pale yellow, upper surface green, indumentum (hairs) soon absent or present (on lower surface), indumentum (hairs) sparse; absent; domatia absent; stipules present, free, laterally placed, not encircling the twig, leafy, not fringed, large (up to 5 mm long), not persistent.

Flowers: Inflorescence axillary, flowers arising from a single point, cones absent; flowers bisexual, stalked, flowers with many planes of symmetry, 8.0-14.0 mm long, diameter small (up to10 mm diam.) (c. 10 mm diam.); perianth present, with distinct sepals and petals whorls, inner perianth white, pale yellow, or cream-coloured; 8, some or partly joined; stamens 16, present, free of each other, joined to the perianth; ovary superior, carpels joined (when more than one), locules 8; styles solitary, 1.

Fruits: Infrutescence arising from single point, fruit 20.0-25.0 mm long, red or brown, not spiny, fleshy, simple, indehiscent, berry; seeds 1, to about 5 mm long (2- 3 mm long), not winged, broad (as wide as long) (laterally compressed), seed 1-10 mm diam. (c. 1.5 mm diam.).

Distribution: Madang, Morobe, Western, Central & Milne Bay.

Botanical records in PNGplants database Map details

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