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

Nothofagus pullei Steenis

Blumea Vol. 7: 146 (152)

Other Literature: C.G.G.J. van Steenis, Journal of the Arnold Arboretum 353 (1953) Fig. 10.

Family: Nothofagaceae
Dicotyledon

Timber Group: Major exportable hardwood

Field Characters: Large canopy tree (20-50 m high, rarely to 60 m; flat-topped); Bole cylindrical (up to 150 cm diam.); straight (bole up to 25 m long); buttresses slightly buttresses present or buttresses absent; spines spines absent; aerial roots aerial roots absent; stilt roots stilt roots absent; Bark dark brown, rough, scaly or flaky (shedding in large plates), fissured, or pustular, lenticels elongated vertically; Subrhytidome (under-bark) orange (pale (straw-coloured) or pale brown; less than 25 mm thick, 12.0-15.0; bark blaze consisting of one layer; faintly to non-aromatic; pleasant; outer blaze pink or pale brown, markings absent, fibrous; inner blaze pink or brown (pale (slightly darker towards sapwood), markings absent, fibrous; bark exudate (sap) present or absent, colourless, not readily flowing (spotty), colour changing on exposure to air, to red (pale (pinkish), 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 (1-3 mm long), not winged, attached to base of leaf blade, not swollen; leaves broadest at or near middle (broadly elliptic to elliptic-oblong), (1.0-) 2.0-4.5 cm, 0.7-2.8 cm; symmetric, entire, not dissected or lobed, emarginate or retuse or rounded, venation pinnate, secondary veins open, prominent (c. 6 pairs, reticulation dense), intramarginal veins absent; leaves lower surface pale green, upper surface green (glossy), indumentum (hairs) absent; absent; domatia absent; stipules present, free, laterally placed, not encircling the twig, leafy (attached at lower third), not fringed, large (4-5 X 2 mm), not persistent or persistent.

Flowers: Inflorescence axillary, flowers single (male & female flowers surrounded by a cupule), cones absent; flowers unisexual, unisexual with male and female flowers on the same plant, not stalked or stalked (to 1 mm long), flowers slightly asymmetric, 2.5-6.0 mm long, diameter small (up to10 mm diam.) (2 mm diam.); perianth present, with all sepals and/or petals (hence tepals) similar, inner perianth white, green (reddish (female flowers), or cream-coloured (male flowers); 6 (-9), some or partly joined; stamens 10-15, present, free of each other, free of the perianth; ovary inferior, carpels joined (when more than one), locules 2-6 (-9); styles solitary, 1.

Fruits: Infrutescence arranged on unbranched axis, fruit 5.0-6.0 mm long, 5.0 (c.) mm diam., red or brown, not spiny, non-fleshy, simple, indehiscent, nut; seeds 1, to about 5 mm long, not winged, broad (as wide as long), seed 1-10 mm diam. (c. 5 mm diam.).

Distribution: West Sepik, Madang, Morobe, Western Highlands, Eastern Highlands, Southern Highlands, Central & Milne Bay.

Botanical records in PNGplants database Map details

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Notes: Notes This species has traditionally been included in the family Fagaceae.