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

Lamiodendron magnificum Steen.

Nova Guinea series 2 Vol. 8: 381 (1957)

Field Characters: Large trees 15-20 m high. Bole markedly fluted 40-50 cm diam.; straight; buttresses slightly present flutted to about 2 m; spines absent; aerial roots absent; stilt roots absent. Bark grey, rough, pustular; lenticels irregular; subrhytidome green; bark thickness <25 mm thick, 10.0 mm thick; blaze consisting of one layer; strongly aromatic; onion-like; outer blaze pale brown (straw-coloured), pale yellow, or white, markings absent, fibrous; inner blaze white, pale yellow, or pale brown straw-coloured, markings absent, fibrous; exudate present, brown, spotty, changing colour on exposure to air, to brown or 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 opposite, compound; petiole present, not winged, attached to base of leaf blade <not peltate>, not swollen; leaves pinnate; petiolule swollen <at tip, or base, or both> rachis present, not winged, not swollen; leaves with a terminal leaflet, each leaflet broadest below middle, 11.0-13.5 cm long, 5.5-6.0 cm wide, leaflets opposite, almost symmetric or slightly asymmetric, terminal developing leaflet buds straight; 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 present; lower surface pale green, upper surface glossy green, hairs absent; oil dots absent; domatia absent; stipules present, free <from one another>, laterally placed <whether free or joined>, not encircling the twig, scale-like, not fringed, large <easily visible to the eye>, persistent.

Flowers: Inflorescence axillary <from between a leaf and branch> or on the trunk or branches <cauliflorous-ramiflorous> (on branches below leaves). Flowers on a branched axis crowded; flowers bisexual, stalked, slightly asymmetric or with many planes of symmetry <actinomorphic>, 50.0-70.0 mm long, small (< or =10 mm diam.) about 50 mm diam.; perianth present, with distinct sepals and petals, orange or yellow; inner perianth 5, some or partly joined tubing a corolla tube; stamens 4, filaments present, free of each other, joined to perianth <epipetalous/episepalous> 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. Not spiny, non-fleshy, simple, dehiscent, capsule. Seeds 100, winged.

Distribution: Papuan Islands, Milne Bay & Northern.

Botanical records in PNGplants database Map details