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. tomentosa (Blume) Jacobs

Reinwardtia Vol. 6: 130 (1962)

Other Literature: D.B. Foreman, Checklist of the Vascular Plants of Bougainville 160-161 (1971) Fig. 161.

Family: Sapindaceae
Dicotyledon

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

Field Characters: Large canopy tree (up to 45 m high); Bole cylindrical; straight; buttresses buttresses present or buttresses absent; spines spines absent; aerial roots aerial roots absent; stilt roots stilt roots absent; Bark brownish grey or reddish brown, slightly rough, scaly or flaky (becoming pock-marked); bark blaze with two layers; faintly to non-aromatic; outer blaze reddish brown or brownish grey, markings absent; inner blaze brown (reddish (light), markings absent; bark exudate (sap) present, slightly red, not readily flowing (spotty), colour not changing on exposure to air; terminal buds not enclosed by leaves.

Indumentum: Complex hairs absent; stinging hairs absent; mature twig indumentum (hairs) present, hairs dense.

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 slightly swollen; rachis present, absent or faintly present, absent; leaves without a terminal leaflet (the number of leaflets even - paripinnate), broadest below middle, 12.0-30.0 cm, 5.0-8.0 cm, sub-leaflets opposite or leaflets alternate, symmetric; venation pinnate, secondary veins open, prominent, intramarginal veins absent; leaves lower surface green, upper surface dark green, indumentum (hairs) present (lower surface), indumentum (hairs) dense or sparse; 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 dull green or brown; 5, free; stamens 5, present, free of each other, free of the perianth; ovary superior, carpels joined (when more than one), locules 3; styles solitary, 1.

Fruits: Infrutescence arranged on branched axis, fruit 30.0-33.0 mm long, dark red or black, not spiny, fleshy, simple, indehiscent, drupe; seeds 3 (with white aril), much more than 10 mm long (15-25 mm long), not winged, broad (as wide as long), seed more than 10 mm diam. (c. 15 mm diam.).

Distribution: Morobe, Western Highlands, Gulf & Bougainville.

Botanical records in PNGplants database Map details

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