Barry Conn (NSW) & Kipiro Damas (LAE).
Guide to trees of Papua New Guinea
Copyright held by the authors, National Herbarium of New South Wales, and Papua New Guinea National Herbarium

Myristica chrysophylla J.Sinclair var. entrecasteauxensis J.Sinclair

Gardens' Bulletin, Singapore Vol. 23: 257 (1968) Fig. 27.

Other Literature: D.B. Foreman, Handbooks of the Flora of Papua New Guinea 189 (1978)

Family: Myristicaceae
Dicotyledon

Timber Group: Commercial hardwood

Field Characters: Small sub-canopy tree; buttresses buttresses present (or spurred near base) or buttresses absent; spines spines absent; aerial roots aerial roots absent; stilt roots stilt roots absent; Bark grey, brown, or black, rough, scaly or flaky (small flakes); Subrhytidome (under-bark) dark red; less than 25 mm thick; bark blaze consisting of one layer; faintly to non-aromatic; outer blaze yellow (pale (straw-coloured) or orange, markings absent; inner blaze yellow (pale (straw-coloured) or orange, markings absent; bark exudate (sap) present, red or brown, flowing, colour not changing on exposure to air, sticky; terminal buds not enclosed by leaves.

Indumentum: Complex hairs absent; stinging hairs absent; mature twig indumentum (hairs) present, hairs dense.

Leaves: Leaves spaced along branches, spiral (leaves occurring singly at a node and arranged spirally up the branchlet), simple (a leaf composed of a single blade); petiole present, not winged, attached to base of leaf blade, not swollen; leaves broadest at or near middle or equally broad throughout much of length, (10.0-) 16.0-23.0 (-42.0) cm, 2.5-9.0 cm; symmetric, entire, not dissected or lobed, acute or acuminate, venation pinnate, secondary veins open, faintly prominent, intramarginal veins absent; leaves lower surface slightly blue-green, dull pale green, or brown (pale (caused by brownish hairs), upper surface green, indumentum (hairs) absent when mature or present when immature, indumentum (hairs) dense or sparse; absent; domatia absent; stipules absent.

Flowers: Inflorescence axillary, flowers arising from a single point or flowers on a branched axis, cones absent; flowers bisexual, stalked, flowers with many planes of symmetry, 7.0-8.0 mm long, diameter small (up to10 mm diam.); perianth present, with all sepals and/or petals (hence tepals) similar, inner perianth yellow or brown (yellowish (caused by brown hairs); 2-3 (-5), some or partly joined; stamens 8-30, absent, joined (to form a central staminal column), free of the perianth; ovary superior, carpels joined (when more than one), locules 1; styles solitary (short, c. 1 mm long), 1.

Fruits: Infrutescence arising from single point or arranged on branched axis, fruit (25.0-) 30.0-45.0 mm long, slightly red or brown, not spiny, fleshy, simple, dehiscent, capsule (2-valved); seeds 1, much more than 10 mm long (15-25 mm long), not winged, broad (as wide as long), seed more than 10 mm diam. (c. 20 mm diam.).

Distribution: Morobe, Central, Northern, Milne Bay & Papuan Islands.

Botanical records in PNGplants database Map details

Notes: Notes For the difference between this variety and Myristica chrysophylla var. chrysophylla refer to the notes of the latter variety.