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

Prunus gazelle-peninsulae (Kaneh. & Hatus.) Kalkman

Blumea Vol. 13: 77 (1965)

Other Literature: C. Kalkman, Flora Malesiana, Series 1 335-336 (1993)

Family: Rosaceae
Dicotyledon

Timber Group: Non-timber species

Field Characters: Large canopy tree (up to 40 m high) or Small sub-canopy tree; Bole cylindrical (up to c. 75 cm diam., rarely to more than 100 cm); straight (bole up to c. 18 m long); buttresses buttresses present (sometimes as small spurs) or buttresses absent; spines spines absent; aerial roots aerial roots absent; stilt roots stilt roots absent; Bark pale grey or brown, slightly rough or smooth, slightly scaly or flaky, slightly fissured, or scattered pustular, lenticels irregular (lenticels very pale brown); Subrhytidome (under-bark) white (with cream-coloured streaks), yellow, green, red, or mottled; less than 25 mm thick, 6.0-13.0; bark blaze consisting of one layer; strongly aromatic; almond-like; outer blaze red or brown, with stripes, corky; inner blaze red or brown, markings absent or with stripes, slightly fibrous or corky; bark exudate (sap) present, colourless, not readily flowing (spotty), colour changing on exposure to air, to golden-coloured or yellow, not sticky; terminal buds not enclosed by leaves.

Indumentum: Complex hairs absent; stinging hairs absent; mature twig indumentum (hairs) present (glabrescent) or absent, hairs sparse.

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, not winged, attached to base of leaf blade, not swollen; leaves broadest at or near middle, broadest below middle, or rarely equally broad throughout much of length, (10.0-) 12.0-25.0 cm, 6.0-14.0 cm; symmetric, entire, not dissected or lobed, rounded or acuminate (shortly), venation pinnate, secondary veins open, prominent, intramarginal veins absent; leaves lower surface pale green, greyish green, or red (greenish (rusty-coloured hairs present), upper surface dark green (glossy), indumentum (hairs) present, indumentum (hairs) dense when young or sparse when old; present (usually with 4 basal glands that are flat to slightly hollowed); domatia absent; stipules present, free or joined (often across petioles), laterally placed, not encircling the twig, leafy (more or less triangular), fringed (and hairy on outer surface), large (3-6.5 mm long), persistent.

Flowers: Inflorescence axillary or on the trunk or branches (on old wood of branches), flowers on an unbranched axis, cones absent; flowers unisexual (functionally male) or bisexual, stalked, flowers with many planes of symmetry, 3.0-6.0 mm long, diameter small (up to10 mm diam.) (3-5 mm diam.); perianth present, with distinct sepals and petals whorls, inner perianth white or cream-coloured; 5, free or some or partly joined (by misinterpretation (sepals and petals joined to mouth of floral tube); stamens 18-40, present, free of each other, free of the perianth or joined to the perianth (by misinterpretation (stamens joined to mouth of floral tube, separate from the petals and sepals); ovary superior, carpels joined (when more than one), locules 1; styles solitary, 1.

Fruits: Infrutescence arranged on unbranched axis, fruit 8.0-12.0 mm long, dark red, dark brown, or almost black, not spiny, fleshy, simple, indehiscent, drupe; seeds 1, to about 5 mm long (c. 5-6 mm long), not winged, broad (as wide as long) (testa hairy), seed 1-10 mm diam. (3-4 mm diam.).

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

Botanical records in PNGplants database Map details

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