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

Rhodamnia latifolia (Benth.) Miq.

Flora Indiae Batavae Vol. 1: 480

Other Literature: A.J. Scott, Kew Bulletin 442-444 (1979) Fig. 2 (Map).

Family: Myrtaceae
Dicotyledon

Timber Group: Non-timber species

Field Characters: Small sub-canopy tree (or shrub, up to c. 25 m high); Bole cylindrical (up to c. 25 cm diam.); straight (bole up to c. 6 m long, rarely to 14 m); buttresses buttresses absent or buttresses present (sometimes buttresses small); spines spines absent; aerial roots aerial roots absent; stilt roots stilt roots absent; Bark grey or brown, rough, fissured or scaly or flaky (papery); Subrhytidome (under-bark) pale brown; less than 25 mm thick, 3.0-6.0; bark blaze consisting of one layer; faintly to non-aromatic; outer blaze pale yellow, pale red, or brown (pale (mostly reddish brown), markings absent, sub fibrous; inner blaze yellow (pale (mostly straw-coloured)), pale brown, or pale red, markings absent, sub fibrous; bark exudate (sap) absent; terminal buds not enclosed by leaves.

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

Leaves: Leaves spaced along branches, opposite (in pairs, opposite one another on 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 or broadest below middle, 6.0-14.0 cm, 3.5-7.5 cm; symmetric, entire, not dissected or lobed, acuminate, venation pinnate, secondary veins open, not prominent, but visible, intramarginal veins present; leaves lower surface white (silvery) or greenish brown, upper surface dull green, indumentum (hairs) absent (upper surface) or present (lower surface); present; domatia absent; stipules absent.

Flowers: Inflorescence axillary, flowers on a branched axis, cones absent; flowers bisexual, stalked, flowers with many planes of symmetry, 10.0 (c.) mm long, diameter small (up to10 mm diam.) (c. 10 mm diam.); perianth present, with distinct sepals and petals whorls, inner perianth white (with silky hairs on outer surface); 4, free; stamens 100, present, free of each other, free of the perianth (attached to hypanthium); ovary inferior, carpels joined (when more than one), locules 1; styles solitary, 1.

Fruits: Infrutescence arranged on branched axis, fruit 7.0-12.0 mm long, 7.0-12.0 mm diam., dark red, not spiny, fleshy, simple, indehiscent, berry; seeds 4-11, to about 5 mm long (3-4 mm long), not winged, broad (as wide as long) (angular), seed 1-10 mm diam. (3-4 mm diam.).

Distribution: Morobe, Western Highlands, Eastern Highlands, Western, Central, Milne Bay, Papuan Islands & New Britain.

Botanical records in PNGplants database Map details