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

Nothofagus grandis Steenis

Blumea Vol. 7: 147 (1952)

Other Literature: C.G.G.J. van Steenis, Journal of the Arnold Arboretum 363 (1953) Fig. 17-18.

Family: Nothofagaceae
Dicotyledon

Timber Group: Major exportable hardwood

Field Characters: Large canopy tree (usually 25-45 m high, sometimes as short as 12 m); Bole markedly fluted (up to 130 cm diam.) or almost cylindrical; straight (bole 10-25 m long); buttresses occasionally buttresses present or buttresses absent; spines spines absent; aerial roots aerial roots absent; stilt roots stilt roots absent; Bark brownish grey or dark brown, rough, scaly or flaky (forming irregular flakes) or pustular, lenticels elongated vertically or lenticels rounded/swelling; Subrhytidome (under-bark) sometimes yellow, dark red, or brown; less than 25 mm thick, 8.0-14.0; bark blaze consisting of one layer; strongly aromatic; pleasant (like coconut milk); outer blaze pink or red, markings absent, slightly fibrous or granular without splinters; inner blaze pink or red, markings absent, slightly fibrous or granular without splinters; bark exudate (sap) absent; terminal buds not enclosed by leaves.

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

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 (3-10 mm long), not winged, attached to base of leaf blade, not swollen; leaves broadest at or near middle (elliptic-oblong), 4.5-10.0 cm, 2.0-5.0 cm; symmetric, entire, not dissected or lobed, emarginate or retuse or rounded, venation pinnate, secondary veins open, prominent (7-9 pairs), intramarginal veins absent; leaves lower surface pale brown, upper surface dull grey, indumentum (hairs) absent; absent; domatia absent; stipules present, free, laterally placed, not encircling the twig, leafy (peltately attached), not fringed, large (5-7 X 3.5-4 mm), persistent.

Flowers: Inflorescence axillary, flowers single (female) or flowers on an unbranched axis (male in 3s (flowers surrounded by a cupule), cones absent; flowers unisexual, unisexual with male and female flowers on the same plant, not stalked (female) or stalked (male), flowers slightly asymmetric, 6.0-9.0 mm long, diameter small (up to10 mm diam.) (up to 9 mm); perianth present, with all sepals and/or petals (hence tepals) similar, inner perianth orange (male); 6 (-9), some or partly joined; stamens 10-17, present, free of each other, free of the perianth; ovary inferior, carpels joined (when more than one), locules 2-6 (-9); styles solitary, 1.

Fruits: Infrutescence arranged on unbranched axis, fruit 7.0-12.0 mm long, 6.0 (c.) mm diam., red or brown, not spiny, non-fleshy, simple, indehiscent, nut; seeds 1, about 10 mm long (8-9 mm long), not winged, broad (as wide as long), seed 1-10 mm diam. (c. 8 mm diam.).

Distribution: West Sepik, East Sepik, Madang, Morobe, Western Highlands, Eastern Highlands, Southern Highlands, Central & Milne Bay.

Botanical records in PNGplants database Map details

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Notes: Notes This species has traditionally been included in the family Fagaceae.