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

Sericolea gaultheria Schltr.

Botanische Jahrbucher für Systematik, Pflanzengeschichte und Pflanzengeographie Vol. 54: 100 (1916)

Other Literature: M.J.E. Coode, Handbooks of the Flora of Papua New Guinea 157-159 (1981) Fig. 35.

Family: Elaeocarpaceae
Dicotyledon

Timber Group: Non-timber species

Field Characters: Small sub-canopy tree (up to c. 15 m high); Bole cylindrical (up to c. 15 cm diam.); mostly straight; buttresses buttresses absent; spines spines absent; aerial roots aerial roots absent; stilt roots stilt roots absent; Bark white, pale yellow, or grey, slightly rough or mostly smooth, slightly fissured or pustular, lenticels rounded/swelling; less than 25 mm thick, 8.0 (c.); bark blaze consisting of one layer; faintly to non-aromatic; pleasant; outer blaze yellow or pale brown, markings absent, fibrous; inner blaze yellow or pale brown, markings absent, fibrous; bark exudate (sap) absent; 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, 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 sometimes broadest at or near middle or broadest below middle, 2.0-7.0 cm, 0.9-2.0 (-4.0) cm; symmetric, crenate or serrate to dentate (toothed), not dissected or lobed, obtuse, acute, or sometimes acuminate, venation pinnate, secondary veins open, not prominent, but visible, intramarginal veins absent; leaves lower surface pale green (with brownish hairs, sometimes shiny), upper surface dark green (with brownish hairs), indumentum (hairs) present, indumentum (hairs) dense; absent; domatia absent; stipules absent or present, free, laterally placed, not encircling the twig, leafy, not fringed, small, persistent.

Flowers: Inflorescence axillary, flowers on an unbranched axis, cones absent; flowers bisexual, stalked, flowers with many planes of symmetry, 3.0-4.0 mm long, diameter small (up to10 mm diam.); perianth present, with distinct sepals and petals whorls, inner perianth white or cream-coloured; 4-5, free; stamens 12-15, present, free of each other, free of the perianth; ovary superior, carpels joined (when more than one), locules 2; styles solitary, 1.

Fruits: Infrutescence arranged on unbranched axis, fruit 6.0-8.0 mm long, red, black, or blackish purple, not spiny, fleshy, simple, indehiscent, berry; seeds 1-4, to about 5 mm long, not winged, broad (as wide as long), seed 1-10 mm diam. (c. 4-5 mm diam.).

Distribution: Morobe, Western Highlands, Eastern Highlands, Southern Highlands & Northern.

Botanical records in PNGplants database Map details

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Notes: Notes This species is morphologically variable; differing in the type of indumentum (hairs) on the lower surface of the leaves, the degree of prominence of the main leaf veins, the shape of the leaf apex and the leaf texture.