Trema tomentosa
Content
Description
Shrub to medium-sized tree of 5-15(-24)m, 5-30(-50) cm ø.
Bark grey-brown, smooth to finely fissured, lenticellate.
Branchlets, inflorescences, petioles, stipules, and underside of leaves densely and thickly set with greyish, erect, velvety hairs.
Leaves thin- to thick-coriaceous, broadly ovate to ovate-elliptic, (5-)8-15(-19) by (2-)4-7(-9) cm, index 2 ½ -3, broadest mostly below the middle;
Stipules linear-lanceolate, c. 5 by 1 mm.
Inflorescences ♂, ♀, or ♂♀, either on the same or on different vegetative branches;
Distribution
Africa, Asia-Temperate: Hainan (Hainan present), Asia-Tropical: Bangladesh (Bangladesh present); India present; Pakistan (Pakistan present); Thailand (Thailand present), Australasia: Queensland (Queensland present), Burma present, Hongkong present, Madagascar present, Melanesia present, Micronesia present, New Caledonia present, Okinawa present, Pacific: Fiji (Fiji present); Hawaii present; Tonga (Tonga present), Polynesia present, Ryu Kyu Is present, SE. Asia present, Southern America: Argentina Northeast (Formosa present)
East tropical Africa, Madagascar, SE. Asia: Pakistan, India, Bangladesh, Burma, Thailand, Indo-China, China (incl. Hainan), Hongkong, Formosa, Ryu Kyu Is. (Okinawa), throughout Malesia to Queensland, Melanesia (New Caledonia), Micronesia, and Polynesia (Fiji, Tonga, and Hawaii).
Taxonomy
Evidently, T. tomentosa is closely allied to T. orientalis, and it is possible that, when more field data become available in the future, the former may prove to be only representing a juvenile ontogenetical form of the latter. Except for a few specimens from the Philippines (e.g. WHITFORD 681, BS 37313, 48355, ELMER 8417) and from New Guinea (e.g. ANU 2075, 2752, 6240, HARTLEY 10937, MANNER & STREET 270, NGF 29353, SCHODDE 1419, and BW 16510) in which the leaves are thick-coriaceous and with a more or less symmetrical base and pale grey-brown in colour, specimens of T. tomentosa can be easily distinguished from those of T. orientalis by the characters mentioned in the key. . It is also interesting to note that according to HANS () and MEHRA () the chromosome number in T. tomentosa is n = 10 or 80, whereas that of T. orientalis is n = 10,18, or 20.
Citation
P'EI 1947 – In: Bot. Bull. Ac. Sin.: 289
Li 1963: Woody Fl. Taiwan: 109
Miq. 1859 – In: Fl. Ind. Bat.: 216
Miq. 1859 – In: Fl. Ind. Bat.: 218
PLANCH. 1848 – In: Ann. Sc. Nat.: 321
Bl. 1873 – In: Kin. Fl. Austr.: 159
Hook.f. 1888 – In: Fl. Br. Ind.: 484
LAUT. 1913 – In: Bot. Jahrb.: 321
SOEPADMO 1973 – In: Whitmore, Tree Fl. Mal. 2: 423
PLANCH 1873 – In: DC., Prod. 17: 198
Ridl. 1924 – In: Fl. Mal. Pen.: 319
GAGNEP. 1927 – In: Fl. Gen. I.-C.: 689
Merr. 1921: En. Born.: 217
J. J. SMITH 1910 – In: K. & V., Bijdr. 12: 659
K. SCH. & LAUT. 1900: Fl. Schutzgeb.: 264