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

Syzygium thornei Merr. & L.M.Perry

Journal of the Arnold Arboretum Vol. 23: 258 (1942)

Family: Myrtaceae
Dicotyledon

Timber Group: Non-timber species

Field Characters: Small sub-canopy tree or Large canopy tree (20-40 m high); Bole cylindrical (up to c. 20 cm diam.); crooked (slightly bole up to c. 10 m long) or straight; buttresses buttresses absent; spines spines absent; aerial roots aerial roots absent; stilt roots stilt roots absent; Bark pale orange, grey, or brown (pale (different colours in patches), slightly rough or smooth, scaly or flaky (papery) or cracked; Subrhytidome (under-bark) brown or red; less than 25 mm thick, 5.0-8.0; bark blaze consisting of one layer; faintly to non-aromatic; outer blaze brown or red, markings absent, fibrous; inner blaze red or brown, markings absent, fibrous; bark exudate (sap) absent; terminal buds not enclosed by leaves.

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

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, 8.0-10.0 cm, 2.0-2.5 cm; symmetric, entire, not dissected or lobed, obtuse, venation pinnate, secondary veins open (with many secondary veins), not prominent, but visible, intramarginal veins present (c. 1.5 mm from margin); leaves lower surface green (glossy (or dull green), upper surface dark green (glossy), indumentum (hairs) absent; present; domatia absent; stipules absent.

Flowers: Inflorescence on the trunk or branches, flowers on a branched axis, cones absent; flowers bisexual, stalked, flowers with many planes of symmetry, 8.0-10.0 mm long, diameter small (up to10 mm diam.) (c. 8 mm diam.); perianth present, with distinct sepals and petals whorls, inner perianth white; 4, free; stamens 100, present, free of each other, free of the perianth (attached to hypanthium); ovary inferior, carpels joined (when more than one), locules 2; styles solitary, 1.

Fruits: Infrutescence arranged on branched axis, fruit red (pale (pink), not spiny, fleshy, simple, indehiscent, drupe; seeds 1, not winged, broad (as wide as long).

Distribution: West Sepik, Morobe, Gulf, Central & Northern.

Botanical records in PNGplants database Map details

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Notes: Notes Only immature fruits seen.