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

Macaranga leonardii L.M.Perry

Journal of the Arnold Arboretum Vol. 34: 234 (1953)

Field Characters: Large trees 18-20 m high or small trees. Bole cylindrical; straight bole 8-10 m long; buttresses absent; spines absent; aerial roots absent; stilt roots absent. Bark dark brown, rough, pustular; lenticels irregular; subrhytidome pink or red dull; bark thickness <25 mm thick, 3.0 mm thick; blaze consisting of one layer; faintly to non-aromatic; pleasant; outer blaze red or pink, with stripes, fibrous; inner blaze pink or red, with stripes, fibrous; exudate present, colourless, spotty, not changing colour on exposure to air, slightly sticky. Terminal buds not enclosed by leaves; complex hairs present; star-like; stinging hairs absent; mature twig hairy; hairs dense.

Leaves: Spaced along branches <internodes readily visible>. Leaves spiral, simple; petiole present, not winged, attached to base of leaf blade <not peltate>, not swollen; lamina broadest below middle, 8.4-15.0 cm long, 7.0-13.5 cm wide; lamina symmetric, margin entire, not dissected or lobed, apex acuminate, venation palmate <more than three large veins arising from the base>, secondary veins open <spaced far apart to easily see tertiary veins>, prominent, intramarginal veins absent; lower surface brown or red hairs red-brown, upper surface dark green, hairs present, dense; oil dots absent; domatia absent; stipules present, free <from one another>, laterally placed <whether free or joined>, not encircling the twig, leafy, not fringed, large <easily visible to the eye>, not persistent.

Flowers: Inflorescence axillary <from between a leaf and branch>. Flowers on a branched axis; flowers unisexual, shortly stalked, 6.0-8.0 mm long, small (< or =10 mm diam.) 5-6 mm diam.; perianth present, brown hairs red-brown or red.

Fruits: Fruits arranged on branched axis. Fruit red or brown hairs red-brown, not spiny, non-fleshy, simple.

Distribution: Eastern Highlands, West Sepik & Western Highlands.

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