Prunus gazelle-peninsulae

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Prunus gazelle-peninsulae

Description

Trees up to 37 m, buttresses absent or small spurs, bark brown to grey-brown, smooth or shal-lowly fissured, flaking. Leaves elliptic to ovate, rarely oblong, (10-)12-25 by 6-14 cm, base nounded to subcordate, apex rounded or shortly acuminate, herbaceous, with 9-14(-17) pairs of nerves, venation transverse, both sides more or less densely hairy when young and indumentum not quite disappearing with age, basal glands mostly 4, flat to slightly hollowed. Stipules triangular to ovate, 3-6.5 by 1,2-2.5 mm, keeled inside and often intra-petioiarly connate in the lower half, hairy outside and on margins. Flowers bisexual or male. Sepals triangular to Unguifbrm, 1-2 mm long, densely hairy. Petals elliptic to oblong, 1-2 mm long, also hairy, cream-coloured. Stamens 18-40, filaments up to 8 mm, glabrous, anthers up to 1.5 mm long. Ovary glabrous except at very base, style up to 6 mm long, pistillode in male flowers small to minute. Fruits transversely ellipsoid, 8-12 by 11-17 mm, fruiting calyx (basal part of hypanthium) saucer-shaped, 2-3.5 mm diam., exocarp glabrous, black when ripe, mesocarp fleshy, endocarp mostly hairy inside. Seed with hairy testa.

Distribution

Asia-Tropical: Bismarck Archipelago (Bismarck Archipelago present); Maluku (Maluku present); New Guinea present, Ceram present, New Britain present
Moluccas (one flowering specimen seen from Ceram), throughout New Guinea, and Bismarck Archipelago (New Britain).

Ecology

"Birds feed upon the fruits" (Sayers 21333).

Notes

When fruits are absent, distinguishable from the very similar Prunus dolichobotrys by the indumentum of the leaves and on the exterior of the hypanthium.