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

Syzygium aqueum Alston

Annals of the Royal Botanic Gardens. Peradeniya, Ceylon. Vol. 11: 204 (1929)

Other Literature: B.P.M. Hyland, Australian Journal of Botany 50-52 (1983)

Family: Myrtaceae
Dicotyledon

Timber Group: Occasional timber species

Field Characters: Small sub-canopy tree (6-10 m high, occasionally up to 27 m); Bole cylindrical (up to c. 60 cm diam.); straight (mostly bole up to 10 m long, frequently 2-5 m); buttresses buttresses present; spines spines absent; aerial roots aerial roots absent; stilt roots stilt roots absent; Bark red, brown, or dark grey, smooth or slightly rough, often fissured or scaly or flaky (slightly papery); Subrhytidome (under-bark) mottled, green, brown, or orange; less than 25 mm thick, 8.0-10.0; bark blaze consisting of one layer; faintly to non-aromatic; outer blaze pale red, pink, or brown, markings absent, fibrous; inner blaze brown, pale red, or pink, markings absent, 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 absent; leaves broadest at or near middle or broadest below middle, 8.5-16.0 cm, 2.5-6.2 cm; symmetric, entire, not dissected or lobed, acute or acuminate, venation pinnate, secondary veins closed, prominent, intramarginal veins present; leaves lower surface pale green or green, upper surface dark green (glossy), indumentum (hairs) absent; present; domatia absent; stipules absent.

Flowers: Inflorescence terminal or axillary, flowers on a branched axis, cones absent; flowers bisexual, stalked, flowers with many planes of symmetry, 14.0-24.0 mm long, diameter large (more than10 mm diam.); perianth present, with distinct sepals and petals whorls, inner perianth cream-coloured or white; 4, free; stamens 100, present, free of each other, free of the perianth; ovary inferior, carpels joined (when more than one), locules 2; styles solitary, 1.

Fruits: Infrutescence arranged on branched axis, fruit 25.0 (c.) mm long, 20.0-25.0 mm diam., white, green, or red, not spiny, fleshy, simple, indehiscent, drupe; seeds sometimes 1-2, about 10 mm long, not winged, broad (as wide as long), seed 1-10 mm diam.

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

Botanical records in PNGplants database Map details