Horsfieldia laevigata var. laevigata

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Horsfieldia laevigata var. laevigata

Description

Leaves 10-30 by 4-12 cm. Inflorescences with dense to sparse hairs 0.1-0.2(-0.3) mm, sometimes almost glabrous. Fruits ellipsoid, 18-28 mm long, drying blackish or brown, usually with coarse wart-like lenticels;

Distribution

As the species.

Taxonomy

1 After the separation of var. novobritannica the remaining type variety is still very variable, especially in the leaf texture and the length of hairs on the leaf buds, and in the shape of the male buds. 2 The width of the male bud varies between 1.7 and 3.3 mm. Specimens with smaller flowers have been placed in H. pilifera. The shape of the bud in lateral view is generally subcircular. Certain specimens, e.g. from the Papuan Islands and Gulf Prov., may have a bud which is rather markedly broader than long, and these flowers may resemble those of, e. g., H. spicata. In specimens from the Moluccas the bud is often slightly longer than broad. The degree to which the male bud opens is in most specimens halfway to 2/3; specimens from the Papuan Islands and the Bismarck Archipelago may have male buds cleft as deep as 4/5-5/6, a feature reminiscent of H. spicata. In these broad, deeply cleft male flowers, the androecium is broad, rather reniform as seen laterally. 3 The fruits of some specimens from SW New Guinea have thick corky pericarps, 4-6 mm thick, but the leaves agree with those of var. laevigata. Forms with larger and thick-walled fruits appear difficult to separate from H. pachycarpa; see the notes under that species.

Uses

Fruits edible; wood of medium weight and hardness; used for house construction.

Citation

J. Sinclair 1975 – In: Gard. Bull. Sing.: 95