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

Sloanea aberrans (Brandis) A.C.Sm

Journal of the Arnold Arboretum Vol. 25: 288 (1944)

Other Literature: M.J.E. Coode, Handbooks of the Flora of Papua New Guinea 176-177 (1981)

Family: Elaeocarpaceae
Dicotyledon

Timber Group: Occasional timber species

Field Characters: Large canopy tree (up to 30 m high) or Small sub-canopy tree (up to 15 m high); Bole cylindrical (sometimes slightly fluted, 20-40 cm diam.); straight (bole 10-20 m high); buttresses buttresses absent (buttresses up to 1.5 m high); spines spines absent; aerial roots aerial roots absent; stilt roots stilt roots absent; Bark grey (silvery) or pale brown, slightly rough or smooth, pitted; Subrhytidome (under-bark) green; less than 25 mm thick, 10.0-18.0; bark blaze consisting of one layer; faintly to non-aromatic; outer blaze white or yellow, markings absent, granular without splinters; inner blaze white or yellow, markings absent, granular without splinters; bark exudate (sap) present, colourless, not readily flowing (spotty), colour changing on exposure to air, to pale brown, not sticky; terminal buds not enclosed by leaves.

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

Leaves: Leaves spaced along branches, sub 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 above middle or broadest at or near middle, (6.0-) 8.0-13.0 cm, 5.0-8.0 cm; symmetric, entire, not dissected or lobed, usually obtuse or acute (sub (sometimes), venation pinnate, secondary veins open, prominent, intramarginal veins absent; leaves lower surface green, upper surface dark green, indumentum (hairs) absent or present (when young (sometimes), indumentum (hairs) dense; absent; domatia absent; stipules absent.

Flowers: Inflorescence axillary, flowers on an unbranched axis, cones absent; flowers bisexual, stalked, flowers with many planes of symmetry, 15.0-28.0 mm long, diameter small (up to10 mm diam.); perianth present, with distinct sepals and petals whorls, inner perianth white or cream-coloured; 4-6, free or some or partly joined; stamens 23-(c.)-100, present, free of each other, free of the perianth; ovary superior, carpels joined (when more than one), locules 2-4; styles solitary, 1.

Fruits: Infrutescence arranged on unbranched axis, fruit (30.0-) 65.0-70.0 (-80.0) mm long, brownish yellow or red (dark (dull), not spiny, non-fleshy, simple, dehiscent, capsule; seeds 9-(3-5 per locule)-25, about 10 mm long (black with orange aril), not winged, broad (as wide as long), seed 1-10 mm diam. (5-7 mm wide).

Distribution: West Sepik, Madang, Morobe, Western Highlands, Eastern Highlands, Southern Highlands, Western, Central, Northern, Milne Bay, Papuan Islands & Manus.

Botanical records in PNGplants database Map details