Myristica pumila

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Myristica pumila

Description

Shrub or treelet, 1.5-7 m tall. Leaves membranous, (elliptic-)oblong, 6-15.5 by 2-5 cm, base attenuate, apex acute-acuminate; Inflorescences between the leaves, of the Knema-type: a sessile or up to 1 mm pedunculate, scar-covered brachyblast; Fruits solitary, oblong, 5 by 1.5 cm, apex ± blunt, base gradually contracted into a narrow pseudostalk for nearly half of the total length of the fruit, hairs sparse, greyish brown, appressed scale-like, less than 0.1 mm;

Distribution

Asia-Tropical, Fergusson I present, Milne Bay Prov present, Northern Prov present, Papua New Guinea present
Malesia: Papua New Guinea (Northern Prov., Milne Bay Prov.: Fergusson I.).

Taxonomy

2 Myristica pumila keys out beside species with a sessile, non-pedunculate inflorescence; however, some of the inflorescences have a short peduncle, to 1 mm long, usually in specimens in which the majority of the inflorescences is completely sessile. 1 Obviously close to M. tubiflora, and especially to M. filipes and M. flos-culosa; with the latter two it shares the warty-fleshy inner surface of the lower half of the perianth. Myristica pumila can be regarded as a delicate edition of M. flosculosa. Another much resembling species is M. sogeriensis.