Osmoxylon palmatum

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Osmoxylon palmatum

Description

Small, glabrous tree to 15 m. Leaves clustered near the ends of the branches; Inflorescence a terminal, compound umbel, subspherical, to c. 20 cm ø at anthesis; Stamens 6-9, exserted, filaments stout. Ovary subcylindric, angled, c. 2 mm long, 6-9-celled, disk with a raised central stigmatic boss. Fruit globose, fleshy, c. 10 mm ø, strongly ribbed when dry.

Distribution

>Bogor Botanic Garden cultivated, Ambon present, Asia-Tropical: Maluku (Maluku present); Sulawesi (Sulawesi present), Banda present, Buru present, Ceram present, Tenimber Is present
Malesia: Celebes (once, not localized) and Moluccas (Buru, Ceram, Ambon, Banda, Tenimber Is.).
Also cultivated in the >Bogor Botanic Garden.

Uses

The leaves are used for culinary and medicinal purposes (against gonorrhoea).

Notes

The spherical inflorescence is characteristic, having straight rigid rays with no articulation on the secondary branches, and the pseudo-fruits are well separated from the true flowers. Miquel distinguished Trevesia zippeliana because the collector noted that its ovary was 4-celled. Possibly this number related to the sterile flowers. In two gatherings from Ambon (Waai, Teysmann; G. Salhutu, Boerlage 179) the fertile flowers are subsessile in heads, but otherwise conform to the characters of this species. The only record of this genus from the Tenimber Is. consists of leaves only, but their characters conform to this species.

Citation

ex Boerl. 1887 – In: Ann. Jard. Bot. Btzg: 166
Philipson 1976 – In: Blumea: 109
Back. & Bakh.f. 1965 – In: Fl. Java: 163
Merr. 1917: Int. Rumph.: 407
Bakh. f. & Ooststr. 1950 – In: Blumea: 367
Miq. 1856 – In: Bonplandia: 137