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

Carpodetus major Schltr.

Botanische Jahrbücher für Systematik, Pflanzengeschichte und Pflanzengeographie Vol. 52: 137 (1914)

Field Characters: Small trees 3-4 m high, up to 9 m high, often a large shrub about 2 m high, occasionally recorded as a climber. Bole cylindrical 50-60 cm diam.; straight 2-3 m long, often branching from near base or slightly crooked; buttresses absent or present; spines absent; aerial roots absent; stilt roots absent. Bark greyish brown or grey, rough, pustular or slightly tessellated sometimes; lenticels elongated vertically; subrhytidome green; bark thickness <25 mm thick, 3.0-5.0 mm thick; blaze consisting of one layer; faintly to non-aromatic; outer blaze white or pale yellow cream-coloured, with stripes, fibrous; inner blaze white or pale yellow cream-coloured, with stripes, fibrous; exudate present, colourless, spotty, changing colour on exposure to air or not changing colour on exposure to air, to pale brown or pale orange, not sticky. Terminal buds not enclosed by leaves; complex hairs absent; stinging hairs absent; mature twig without hairs.

Leaves: Spaced along branches <internodes readily visible>. Leaves spiral, simple; petiole present 5-8 mm long, not winged, attached to base of leaf blade <not peltate>, not swollen; lamina broadest at or near middle stiff, (5.0-) 6.5-10.0 cm long, (2.0-) 3.2-5.0 cm wide; lamina symmetric to very slightly asymmetric, margin finely serrate to dentate (toothed) often recurved, not dissected or lobed, apex acuminate or sub acute, venation pinnate <secondary veins arising from the midrib along its length>, secondary veins open <spaced far apart to easily see tertiary veins>, prominent, intramarginal veins absent; lower surface pale green, upper surface dark green or green, hairs present or absent (by misinterpretation), sparse hairs minute, appressed to leaf surface, reddish brown on lower surface or somewhat dense; oil dots absent; domatia absent; stipules absent.

Flowers: Inflorescence axillary <from between a leaf and branch>. Flowers on a branched axis; flowers bisexual pleasantly aromatic, stalked pedicel 2-3 mm long, with many planes of symmetry <actinomorphic>, 6.0-8.0 mm long, small (< or =10 mm diam.) 6-8 mm diam.; perianth present, with distinct sepals and petals sepals minute, pale brown, pale yellow or pale green; inner perianth 5, free; stamens 5, filaments absent, free of each other, free of perianth; ovary partly inferior <perigenous>, carpels joined (when more than one) <syncarpous>, locules 4; styles solitary <including joined together>, 1.

Fruits: Fruits arranged on branched axis. Fruit 8-10 mm long, 8.0-10.0 mm diam., fruit grey or brown, not spiny but rough, non-fleshy, simple, partly dehiscent, capsule. Seeds 100, barely visible (to 1 mm long) 1.5-2 mm long, not winged, as wide as long, < 1 mm diam. 1.5-2 mm diam.

Distribution: West Sepik, Milne Bay, Eastern Highlands, Western Highlands & Morobe.

Botanical records in PNGplants database Map details

Notes: The taxonomy of the genus Carpodetus in Papua New Guinea requires review. Tha amount of morphological variation included in material identified as C. major suggests that other species may have been included in the concept of this species.