Talisia megaphylla
Content
Description
Slender tree or treelet, 4-10 m tall, unbranched or with few ascending, sympodial branches on distal portion; trunk to 8 cm in diam.Stem sulcate, glabrous, lenticellate. Leaves paripinnate or imparipinnate, spirally arranged on distal portion of stem; petiole 20-29 cm long, terete, striate, glabrous, enlarged at base; rachis 20-54 cm long, terete, striate to bicarinate on distal portion, glabrous, yellowish brown, glossy; petiolules brownish (drying dark brown), pulvinate, adaxially furrowed, 7-14 mm long; leaflets (7)11-15, opposite or alternate, chartaceous, oblanceolate, oblong-elliptic, sometimes obovate or falcate, (14-)17-43 × 4.5-10.5 cm, the adaxial surface glabrous, with prominulous midvein and slightly sunken secondary veins (sometimes bullate), the abaxial surface glabrous or sparingly pubescent, the apex abruptly acuminate to nearly caudate, the base inequilateral, obtuse-acute to obtuse-cuneate, the margins undulate; primary and secondary veins prominent, tertiary veins reticulate, slightly prominent. Thyrses panicle-shaped, 20-42 cm long, distal or axillary on distal part of stem, lateral branches to 15 cm long; axes angled, sulcate, sericeous-tomentose; bracts deltate, sericeous-tomentose, ca. 1 mm long; bracteoles similar to the bracts but smaller; dichasia simple or compound; peduncle 5-8 mm long on proximal dichasia, ca. 1 mm on distal dichasia; pedicels 1-1.5 mm long, articulate near the middle, sericeous-tomentose. Calyx 4-7 mm long, abaxially ferruginous-sericeous-tomentose, the sepals 2-3.5 mm long, ovate to rounded, concave, imbricate, abaxially glabrous around the wooly-pubescent margins, adaxially glabrous, the outer sepals shorter than the inner sepals; petals white to orangish, 8-9 mm long, elliptic, reflexed at anthesis, abaxially ferruginous-sericeous-tomentose except along upper margins, adaxially papillate, the margins wooly to ciliate, clawed at base, the claw ca. 3.5 mm long, slightly fleshy, white, glabrous; appendage as long as or shorter than the petal, erect, sericeous-tomentose on both surfaces; disc 5-lobed, completely tomentose or only apically tomentose, ca. 1 mm tall; stamens 8, the filaments white, glabrous, of unequal length, 4-5 mm long, the anthers oblong-lanceolate, 1.5-1.7 mm long, apiculate at apex; ovary ferruginous-tomentose, the stigma ellipsoid, papillate. Fruit maturing yellow, orange-yellow or red, oblong-ellipsoid to nearly globose, apiculate, 2-3.2 cm long, velvety pubescent, becoming glabrous at maturity, the pericarp ca. 1.5 mm thick, coriaceous, smooth or less often granulate. Seed solitary, ellipsoid, with lilac, sweet sarcotesta.