Rhyticaryum oleraceum

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Rhyticaryum oleraceum

Description

Shrub or treelet, 0.7-5 m. Branchlets laxly strigose, early glabrescent and covered with cork. Leaves elliptic or usually lanceolate-elliptic or oblong-lanceolate, apex rather gradually or more abruptly and slenderly acuminate for 1-1.5 cm, tip bluntish, base attenuate or rarely obtuse, thinly to firmly chartaceous green or yellowish-green when dry, shining and glabrous on both faces except some strigose hairs which may occur on midrib and nerves, 15-25 by 4-7(-10) cm, nerves (10-)12-14 pairs, curved-ascending, slightly raised above, more distinctly so beneath, looping, reticulation very fine and very dense, conspicuously raised on both faces;

Distribution

Amboina present, Asia-Tropical: Maluku (Maluku present), Batjan present, Ceram present, Geelvink Bay and Southcoast present, Jamdena I present, Kai Is present, Mangoli I present, Morotai present, Sula Is present, Tanimbar Is present, W. New Guinea present
Malesia: Moluccas (Morotai; Sula Is.: Mangoli I.; Ceram, Batjan, Amboina, Tanimbar Is.: Jamdena I.; Kai Is.) and W. New Guinea (Geelvink Bay and Southcoast).

Uses

BECCARI noted the young shoots are eaten as a vegetable in the Kai Is. and VORDER-MAN recorded the same for Batjan.

Citation

SCHELLENB. 1923 – In: Bot. Jahrb.: 173
SLEUM. 1969 – In: Blumea: 251
VALET. 1886: Crit. Overz. Olacin.: 257
SCHELLENB. 1923 – In: Bot. Jahrb.: 173