Hernandia moerenhoutiana
Content
Description
Tree, 12-30 m high, e. 30 cm dbh.
Leaves: petiole 3-6 cm; blade coriaceous, elliptic to oblong, 6-13.5 by 3.5-6 cm, apex broadly rounded (seldom truncate) or obtuse, or acute, base acute or rounded, margin revolute, glabrous on both surfaces but lower surface of young leaves hairy, basal nerves 3, palmate, and midrib with 2 pairs of arching lateral ones, whitish or yellow; domatia present.
Inflorescence including the 6-13 cm long peduncle 10-20 cm long; involucre bracts elliptic to obovate, 10-11 by 5-8 mm; flower buds globose-ovoid, 3-5 mm in diam.
Flowers 4- or 5-merous, white, sweetly fragrant.
Distribution
Asia-Tropical, Manus I. present, New Britain present, from Manus I. eastward to the Society Islands present
Widespread in the Pacific from Manus I. eastward to the Society Islands; in Malesia: Papua New Guinea (Manus I., New Britain).
Taxonomy
Hernandia moerenhoutiana is common and widespread in the Pacific. Kubitzki (1969) accepted in this species three subspecies, viz. subsp. moerenhoutiana (Tahiti, Cook Is.), subsp. campanulata (Tonga Is., Fiji, Samoa) and subsp. samoensis (Solomon Is., Santa Cruz, Samoa). A much related species, H. cordigera Vieillard, is restricted to New Caledonia. Kubitzki distinguished these two species on the dimensions of the cupule at anthesis: broader than long leads to H. cordigera and longer than broad to H. moerenhoutiana. Croft (1981) put the Malesian material into subsp. samoensis, but I doubt whether this is correct: the cupules are broader than long and the leaf apices also do not match. The Malesian material very much resembles H. cordigera, and pending the availability of more material I prefer to leave it in H. moerenhoutiana s.l.; possibly the Malesian and part of the Solomon material represents a fourth subspecies, as yet undescribed.