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

Elaeocarpus sepikanus Schrlt. var. sepikanus

Botanische Jahrbücher für Systematik, Pflanzengeschichte und Pflanzengeographie Vol. 54: 135 (1916)

Field Characters: Small trees or large trees 18-20 m high. Bole cylindrical 25 cm diam.; straight; buttresses present small; spines absent; aerial roots absent; stilt roots present. Bark pale brown, smooth, pustular; lenticels irregular; subrhytidome green; bark thickness <25 mm thick, 7.0 mm thick; blaze consisting of one layer; faintly to non-aromatic; pleasant; outer blaze brown, markings absent, fibrous; inner blaze 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 spiral, simple; petiole present, not winged, attached to base of leaf blade <not peltate>, swollen <at tip, or base, or both> at tip; lamina broadest at or near middle or broadest above middle, (9.0-) 15.0-19.0 cm long, (3.5-) 6.5-8.5 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>, prominent, intramarginal veins absent; lower surface pale green, upper surface green, hairs absent; oil dots absent; 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>, 10.0 mm long, large (>10 mm diam.) 15 mm diam.; perianth present, with distinct sepals and petals, pale yellow; inner perianth 5, some or partly joined; stamens (37-) 50-60, filaments present, free of each other, free of perianth; ovary superior <seated above petals and sepals; hypogenous>, carpels joined (when more than one) <syncarpous>, locules 2; styles solitary <including joined together>, 1.

Fruits: Fruits arranged on branched axis. Fruit 11-20 mm long, 7.0-15.0 mm diam., fruit dark blue dull, not spiny, fleshy, simple, indehiscent, drupe. Seeds 1, about 10 mm long, not winged, longer than wide, 1-10 mm diam. 5-6 mm diam.

Distribution: East Sepik, West Sepik, Western, Southern Highlands, Papuan Islands, New Britain, Northern, Madang, Central, Morobe & Manus.

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