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

Saurauia rufa Burkill

Bulletin of Miscellaneous Information, Royal Gardens, Kew 97 (1988)

Field Characters: Small trees 6-15 m high. Bole cylindrical 15-25 cm diam.; straight bole 3-4 m long; buttresses absent; spines present broad at base; on branches leaves and inflorescences; aerial roots absent; stilt roots absent. Bark dull grey or brown, rough, slightly pustular or fissured; lenticels irregular; subrhytidome yellow cream-coloured or yellowish green; bark thickness <25 mm thick, 8.0-12.0 mm thick; blaze consisting of one layer; faintly to non-aromatic; pleasant; outer blaze pale orange, pale yellow cream-coloured, or white, markings absent, fibrous; inner blaze pale orange, white, or pale yellow cream-coloured, markings absent, fibrous; exudate present, colourless, spotty, not changing colour on exposure to air or changing colour on exposure to air, to brown or orange, slightly 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 spiral, simple; petiole present 10 mm long, not winged, attached to base of leaf blade <not peltate>, not swollen; lamina broadest below middle or broadest at or near middle, 14.0-21.0 cm long, 6.5-8.0 cm wide; lamina symmetric, margin serrate to dentate (toothed), not dissected or lobed, apex obtuse, 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 dark green, hairs absent; oil dots absent; domatia absent; stipules absent.

Flowers: Inflorescence axillary <from between a leaf and branch>. Usually flowers on an unbranched axis flower clusters surrounded by reddish bracts on a long stalk (peduncle 9-17 mm long) or flowers single <solitary> flowers unisexual, with male and female flowers on the same plant <monoecious>, flowers stalked 10-15 cm long, with many planes of symmetry <actinomorphic>, 25.0-30.0 mm long, large (>10 mm diam.) 20 mm diam.; perianth present, with distinct sepals and petals, white; inner perianth 5, free; stamens 100, filaments present, joined <connate>, joined to perianth <epipetalous/episepalous> ovary inferior <seated below the petals and sepals; epigenous>, carpels joined (when more than one) <syncarpous>, locules 5; styles free <more than one style, entirely free from each other>, 5.

Fruits: Fruits single <solitary> or usually fruits arranged on unbranched axis. Fruit green, spiny coarsely hair-like, non-fleshy, simple.

Distribution: Eastern Highlands.

Botanical records in PNGplants database Map details

Notes: Previously included in the Family Saurauiaceae.