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

Lumnitzera littorea (Jack.) Voight

Hortus Suburbanus Calcuttensis Vol. Series 3, 2: 39 (1845)

Other Literature: M. Percival and J.S. Womersley, Floristics and Ecology of the Mangrove Vegetation of Papua New Guinea 69 (1975) Fig. 50-51.

Field Characters: Usually small trees 6-25 m high or large trees. Bole cylindrical 12-25 cm diam., rarely up to 40 cm; straight bole 3-3.5 m long or crooked; buttresses absent base of trunk often slightly swollen; spines absent; aerial roots absent; stilt roots occasionally present then roots slender and knee-like, pneumatophores absent or absent. Bark dark brown or grey, rough, slightly scaly or flaky or fissured longitudinally; subrhytidome red or brown; bark thickness <25 mm thick, 12.0-14.0 mm thick; blaze consisting of 2 layers; faintly to non-aromatic; outer blaze red, pink, or brown, markings absent, fibrous; inner blaze pale yellow straw-coloured, pink, or white, markings absent, fibrous; exudate absent. Terminal buds not enclosed by leaves; complex hairs absent; stinging hairs absent; mature twig without hairs.

Leaves: Clustered at end of branches <internodes indistinct>. Leaves spiral, simple; petiole present very short or absent, not winged, attached to base of leaf blade <not peltate>, not swollen; lamina broadest above middle, 2.0-9.0 cm long, 1.0-2.5 cm wide; lamina symmetric, margin entire, not dissected or lobed, apex rounded or slightly emarginate or retuse, venation pinnate <secondary veins arising from the midrib along its length>, secondary veins open <spaced far apart to easily see tertiary veins>, not visible, intramarginal veins absent; lower surface slightly pale green or glossy green, upper surface glossy green, hairs absent; oil dots absent; domatia absent; stipules absent.

Flowers: Inflorescence axillary <from between a leaf and branch> in upper leaf axils or terminal <at branch ends>. Flowers on an unbranched axis 5-15-flowered; flowers bisexual, shortly stalked, with many planes of symmetry <actinomorphic>, 15.0-20.0 mm long, small (< or =10 mm diam.) 4-5 mm diam.; perianth present, with distinct sepals and petals, red; inner perianth 5, free; stamens 5-10, filaments present red, free of each other, joined to perianth <epipetalous/episepalous> at and between bases of petals on inner wall of receptavle; ovary inferior <seated below the petals and sepals; epigenous>, carpels joined (when more than one) <syncarpous>, locules 1; styles solitary <including joined together>, 1.

Fruits: Fruits arranged on unbranched axis. Fruit 10-15 mm long, 4.0-5.0 mm diam., fruit green, red, or brown, not spiny, slightly fleshy, aggregate pseudocarp - the fruit incorporates the receptacle, indehiscent, drupe. Seeds 1 (-2), not winged, as wide as long.

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

Botanical records in PNGplants database Map details