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

Pometia pinnata J.R.Forster & G.Forster f. glabra (Blume) Jacobs

Reinwardtia Vol. 6: 125 (1962)

Other Literature: M. Jacobs, Flora Malesiana, Series 1 701 (1994)

Family: Sapindaceae
Dicotyledon

Timber Group: Major exportable hardwood Tradename: Taun. Other vernacular name: Edible Taun

Field Characters: Large canopy tree (up to 45 m high); Bole markedly fluted (up to 120 cm diam.); crooked; buttresses buttresses present; spines spines absent; aerial roots aerial roots absent; stilt roots stilt roots absent; Bark grey or reddish brown, slightly rough or smooth, scaly or flaky; less than 25 mm thick; bark blaze with two layers; faintly to non-aromatic; outer blaze slightly green, markings absent, granular without splinters; inner blaze pale yellow or dark pink, markings absent, granular without 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 soon absent, hairs sparse.

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 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), broadest at or near middle or broadest below middle, 6.0-30.0 cm, 2.0-13.0 cm, leaflets alternate, slightly asymmetric or symmetric; venation pinnate, secondary veins open, not prominent, but visible, intramarginal veins absent; leaves lower surface pale green, upper surface dark green (glossy), indumentum (hairs) absent; absent; domatia absent; stipules absent.

Flowers: Inflorescence terminal, flowers on a branched axis, cones absent; flowers bisexual, stalked, flowers with many planes of symmetry, 3.0 (c.) mm long, diameter small (up to10 mm diam.) (c. 5 mm diam.); perianth present, with distinct sepals and petals whorls, inner perianth yellow; 5, free; stamens 5, present, free of each other, free of the perianth; ovary superior, carpels joined (when more than one), locules 3; styles absent.

Fruits: Infrutescence arranged on branched axis, fruit 12.0-20.0 mm long, yellow, green (with red tinge), or red when mature, not spiny, slightly fleshy, simple, indehiscent, drupe; seeds 3 (with white aril), much more than 10 mm long, not winged, broad (as wide as long).

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

Botanical records in PNGplants database Map details

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