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

Zygogynum sylvestre (A.C.Sm.) Vink

Blumea Vol. 31: 54 (1985)

Field Characters: Small trees 10 m high. Bole cylindrical 12 cm diam.; straight bole 2 m long; buttresses absent; spines absent; aerial roots absent; stilt roots absent. Bark grey, rough, slightly tessellated shallow craters with irregular ridges; subrhytidome black; bark thickness <25 mm thick, 10.0-12.0 mm thick; blaze consisting of one layer; strongly aromatic; resinous/linament-like with hot peppery taste; outer blaze pale red, with stripes, granular without splinters; inner blaze pale red, with stripes, granular without splinters; exudate absent. 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 10-15 mm long, not winged, attached to base of leaf blade <not peltate>, not swollen; lamina broadest above middle, 10.0-16.0 cm long, 4.0-6.0 cm wide; lamina symmetric, margin entire, not dissected or lobed, apex acuminate, venation pinnate <secondary veins arising from the midrib along its length>, secondary veins open <spaced far apart to easily see tertiary veins>, prominent or not prominent, but visible, intramarginal veins absent; lower surface pale green, upper surface green, hairs absent; oil dots absent; domatia absent; stipules absent.

Flowers: Inflorescence terminal <at branch ends>. Flowers on a branched axis; flowers bisexual, stalked, with many planes of symmetry <actinomorphic>, 3.0 mm long, small (< or =10 mm diam.) 3 mm diam.; perianth present, with all sepals and/or petals (hence tepals) similar, yellow; inner perianth 4 (-5), free; stamens 4 (-5), filaments absent, free of each other, free of perianth; ovary superior <seated above petals and sepals; hypogenous> styles absent.

Fruits: Fruits arranged on branched axis. Fruit 10 mm long, 10.0 mm diam., fruit green when immature, not spiny, fleshy, simple, indehiscent, drupe. Not winged.

Distribution: Madang, Western Highlands, Southern Highlands, East Sepik, Papuan Islands & Morobe.

Botanical records in PNGplants database Map details

Notes: The identity of the plants from the Kamiali Wildlife Management Area have been tentatively classified as belonging to this species.