Barry Conn (NSW) & Kipiro Damas (LAE).
Copyright held by the authors, Royal Botanic Gardens and Domain Trust, and Papua New Guinea National Herbarium

Syzygium hemilamprum (F.Muell. ex F.M.Bail.) Merr. & L.M.Perry

Blumea Vol. 51: 137 (2006)

Field Characters: Small trees 20-25 m high. Bole cylindrical about 20 cm diam.; straight; buttresses absent; spines absent; aerial roots absent; stilt roots present. Bark brown, smooth; subrhytidome brown; bark thickness <25 mm thick, 4.0-5.0 mm thick; blaze consisting of one layer; faintly to non-aromatic; outer blaze red or brown, markings absent, fibrous; inner blaze red or brown, markings absent, fibrous; exudate absent. Terminal buds not enclosed by leaves; complex hairs absent; stinging hairs absent; mature twig without hairs.

Leaves: Spaced along branches <internodes readily visible>. Leaves opposite, simple; petiole present, not winged, attached to base of leaf blade <not peltate>, not swollen; lamina broadest at or near middle, 9.5-12.5 cm long, 3.0-4.8 cm wide; lamina symmetric, margin entire, not dissected or lobed, apex acuminate, venation pinnate <secondary veins arising from the midrib along its length>, secondary veins open <spaced far apart to easily see tertiary veins>, not prominent, but visible, intramarginal veins present; lower surface pale green, upper surface dark green, hairs absent; oil dots present indistinct; domatia absent; stipules absent.

Flowers: Inflorescence axillary <from between a leaf and branch>. Flowers on a branched axis; flowers bisexual, stalked, with many planes of symmetry <actinomorphic>, 8.0-10.0 mm long, small (< or =10 mm diam.) 5-6 mm diam.; perianth present, with all sepals and/or petals (hence tepals) similar fused together to form a cup, white, yellow, or cream-coloured; inner perianth 5, all joined; stamens 100, filaments present, free of each other, free of perianth; ovary inferior <seated below the petals and sepals; epigenous>, carpels joined (when more than one) <syncarpous>, locules 5; styles solitary <including joined together>, 1.

Fruits: Fruits arranged on branched axis. Fruit 5-7 mm long, 5.0-7.0 mm diam., fruit white once recorded, not spiny, fleshy, simple, indehiscent, drupe. Not winged.

Distribution: Western and Madang.

Botanical records in PNGplants database Map details

Notes: The identity of the collections from the Wanang area, Madang, appear to resemble Syzygium hemilamprum; however, the latter species is only known from the southern parts of the Western Province. Therefore, it seems unlikely that the trees from Wanang are the same species.