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

Timonius belensis Merr. & L.M.Perry

Journal of the Arnold Arboretum Vol. 26: 236 (1945)

Field Characters: Small trees 14-20 m high, often much shorter. Bole cylindrical 15-30 cm diam.; almost straight bole up to about 10 m long or slightly crooked; buttresses absent; spines absent; aerial roots absent; stilt roots absent. Bark grey or brown, rough, pustular; lenticels irregular; subrhytidome white or pale yellow cream-coloured; bark thickness <25 mm thick, 5.0 mm thick; blaze consisting of one layer; faintly to non-aromatic; unpleasant; outer blaze brown or orange, markings absent, granular with splinters; inner blaze orange or brown, markings absent, granular with splinters; exudate present, colourless, spotty, changing colour on exposure to air, to dark orange or brown, not sticky. Terminal buds 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 12-15 mm long, not winged, attached to base of leaf blade <not peltate>, not swollen; lamina broadest at or near middle, (4.0-) 7.0-8.5 cm long, (1.6-) 4.0-4.5 cm wide; lamina symmetric, margin entire, not dissected or lobed, apex obtuse or sub acute slightly sharp-pointed, 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 absent; lower surface green, upper surface dark green, hairs absent; oil dots absent; domatia absent; stipules present, joined, joined across twigs <growing between opposite leaves and leaving a scar between them when they fall; interpetiolar>, encircling the twig <amplexicaul>, leafy narrow, not fringed, large <easily visible to the eye> (15-)40-70 mm long, not persistent.

Flowers: Inflorescence axillary <from between a leaf and branch>. Flowers single <solitary> flowers bisexual, stalked 6-7 mm long, with many planes of symmetry <actinomorphic>, 14.0-16.0 mm long, small (< or =10 mm diam.) 4-5 mm diam.; perianth present, with distinct sepals and petals, white at least on inner surface of lobes, often with purple tinge or greenish purple especially in older flowers; inner perianth (4-) or 8, some or partly joined to form a long corolla tube; stamens 4, filaments present short, free of each other, joined to perianth <epipetalous/episepalous> ovary inferior <seated below the petals and sepals; epigenous>, carpels joined (when more than one) <syncarpous> styles solitary <including joined together>, 1.

Fruits: Fruits single <solitary>. Fruit 10-15 mm long, 8.0-14.0 (slightly flattened) mm diam., fruit green, not spiny, fleshy, simple, indehiscent, berry.

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

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