Maniltoa plurijuga

Author: Merrill & L.M. Perry

Morphological description
Tree (7-)25-40 m high, 37-45(-90) cm in diameter; usually with buttresses 0.3-3.2 m high, 40 cm wide and 4 cm thick, sometimes fissured or fluted. Growth flush-wise, flushes developing from large buds. Buds covered by 2-ranked, brown, caducous budscales with lengthwise veins; new leaves developing in bright white or pink tassels. Stipules present in the buds, very tender, caducous immediately after the unfolding of the bud, leaving hardly any scar.

Leaves paripinnate, (7-)10-15-jugate; rachis 8.5-23 cm and petiole 0.5-1.1 cm, both rusty hairy. Leaflets opposite, sessile, oblong to lanceolate, 2.5-6 by 0.6-2 cm; apex obtuse but obliquely emarginate; base rounded or auriculate on the lower side; midrib very excentric, at 1-2.5 mm from the upper margin; usually glabrous, sometimes along the midrib sparsely hairy, nerves invisible on both surfaces (plurijuga Maniltoa TYPE leaf ).

Inflorescences to 4.5(-8) cm long, 3.5(-8) cm wide; rachis 3-4.5 cm, densely hairy; bracts 0.4-4 cm long, densely rusty brown velvety hairy; bracteoles 7 mm; pedicels 1.5-3 cm, rather densely hairy.

Flowers said to turn purple-brown very soon. Hypanthium 2-2.5 mm deep. Sepals 13-18 mm long, sparsely hairy. Petals 9-13 mm long. Disk absent. Stamens 30-32; filaments 13-18 mm, free or slightly connate for 0.75 mm at the base; anthers apiculate. Ovary densely hairy, the stipe c. 7 mm; style 5-7 mm;

Fruits 2.7-4.3 by 1.4-1.5 by 1.5 cm, very sparsely hairy.

Distribution
Malesia: New Guinea (Irian Jaya: scattered; Papua New Guinea: W Sepik and Morobe Provinces).

Habitat & Ecology
Primary forests, sometimes at riversides, on ridges, both on alluvial clay and limestone, up to 650 m altitude. Flowering in April, and June; fruiting in January, and February.

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