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

Ceriops tagal (Perr.) C.B.Rob.

Philippine Journal of Science C. Botany Vol. 3: (1908)

Other Literature: M. Percival and J.S. Womersley, Floristics and Ecology of the Mangrove Vegetation of Papua New Guinea 58 (1975) Fig. 42-44.

Field Characters: Large trees up to 25 m high or small trees 2-8 m high, or shrub. Bole cylindrical up to 30 cm diam.; crooked gnarled and twisted, bole up to about 7 m long, but usually short (up to 1 m long) with plant often branching from near base or almost straight; buttresses present; spines absent; aerial roots present forming plank-like buttresses and frequently with knee-like roots present above soil surface; stilt roots absent. Bark reddish brown or grey, rough, pustular or fissured; lenticels elongated laterally reddih lenticels prominent on buttresses; subrhytidome red; blaze consisting of one layer; faintly to non-aromatic; outer blaze brownish pink, red, or brown, markings absent, fibrous; inner blaze brownish pink, 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> or slightly clustered at end of branches <internodes indistinct>. Leaves opposite, simple; petiole present 8-40 mm long, not winged, attached to base of leaf blade <not peltate>, not swollen; lamina slightly broadest above middle or broadest at or near middle, 3.5-11.5 cm long, 1.5-5.0 (-7.5) cm wide; lamina symmetric, margin entire, not dissected or lobed, apex acuminate, rounded often with very short point, or obtuse, 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 or not visible, intramarginal veins absent; lower surface pale green or 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>, not encircling the twig, leafy, not fringed, large <easily visible to the eye> 10-30 mm long, not persistent.

Flowers: Inflorescence axillary <from between a leaf and branch>. Flowers on a branched axis inflorescence of 2-12 flowers; flowers bisexual, stalked about 5 mm long, with many planes of symmetry <actinomorphic>, 6.0-10.0 mm long, small (< or =10 mm diam.) 6-8 mm diam.; perianth present, with distinct sepals and petals, white; inner perianth 5 (apex of each petal divided into a 3-part appendage), free or sometimes some or partly joined at base with hairs; stamens 10, filaments present, free of each other, free of perianth; ovary partly inferior <perigenous>, carpels joined (when more than one) <syncarpous> styles solitary <including joined together> 1-3 mm long, 1.

Fruits: Fruits arranged on branched axis but usually only one or two fruits developing on each axis. Fruit 12-25 mm long, 5.0-10.0 mm diam., fruit greenish brown, not spiny, non-fleshy leathery, simple, indehiscent, drupe the fruit does not fall with the hypocotyl. Seeds 1, not winged.

Distribution: Morobe, Central, Western, Madang, Bougainville, Manus, New Ireland, New Britain, Papuan Islands & Milne Bay.

Botanical records in PNGplants database Map details