Author: W.J. de Wilde
Morphological description
Tree 15 m tall and 19 cm in diameter, or treelet 3-6 m tall.
Leaves (1-)3-6-jugate, subsessile or shortly petioled, petiole and rachis (0.3-)4-20(or more) cm long. Leaflets chartaceous, elliptic-oblong to oblong-lanceolate, (5.5-)12-30 by (2-)4-10 cm, the uppermost leaflets generally largest; apex acuminate, acute, or obtuse; base cuneate to shortly attenuate, obtuse, rarely subcordate (for the basal pair), symmetric; glabrous; midrib elevated above, prominent beneath; nerves 7-11 per side; petiolules 2-6 mm (monadelpha Saraca TYPE detail ).
Inflorescences up to 12 cm wide, glabrous, branches up to c. 2 cm long; bracts elliptic-ovate, 3-4 mm long, finely puberulous, or glabrous with minutely hairy margin, often caducous; bracteoles elliptic, 4-9 mm long, puberulous, or glabrous with minutely hairy margin, spreading, often caducous, sometimes persistent; pedicels 10-15 mm, the length between bracteoles and flower 2-5 mm (monadelpha Saraca fl Blum27/1 ).
Flowers yellow tinged orange, deep yellow, or yellowish pink, articulated near the base, glabrous outside. Hypanthium tubular, 18-23 mm long, 4-5 mm wide at the throat, gradually tapering towards the base (monadelpha Saraca fl Blum27/1 ). Calyx lobes broadly elliptic, or ovate-elliptic, 8-12 by 6-10 mm, with minutely hairy margin. Stamens 4 perfect and 6 tooth-like staminodes united together at their basal parts into a filamental tube of 4-8(-9) by 4-5 mm, the tube sometimes splitting to the base at the side of insertion of the (vestigial) pistil; free parts of filaments 17-20 mm, dilated towards the base, glabrous; anthers broadly ellipsoid, c. 4 mm long; free parts of staminodes (0.5-)1-5 mm. Pistil glabrous, stipitate, free part of stipe 2-2.5 mm; ovary 4-5 mm long, 6-ovuled; style (15-)18-22 mm; stigma minute, round.
Pods (only one immature seen) somewhat spindle-shaped, 24 by 5 cm, c. 1.5 cm thick, apex acuminate with a beak c. 1.5 cm long, base attenuate; rather smooth, with obscure, loosely reticulate veins, valves thinly woody, 5-seeded.
Seeds (young) broadly ellipsoid, c. 2.5 by 1.5 cm, c. 1.5 cm thick.
Distribution
Malesia : Lesser Sunda Islands (Flores), N Moluccas (Halmahera).
Habitat & Ecology
In forest, solitary or scattered, in Halmahera in rather dense or depleted open forest 15-35 m high, with very much or very little undergrowth, on alluvial flat, regularly inundated with heavy rain, with deep clayey soil, near or along a small stream; 20-350 m altitude Fl. January, March, June, September, December; fr. September
Note
Saraca monadelpha is characterized by the relatively large fleshy flowers with broad hypanthium (or calyx tube), stamens and staminodes united at their basal parts into a prominent tube, 4-8(-9) by 4-5 mm, large anthers (c. 4 mm long), ovary 6-ovuled, and pod somewhat spindle-shaped.