Tabernaemontana remota
Content
Description
Shrub or tree to 10 m tall, to 40 cm dbh.
Bark pale brown, inner bark orange.
Leaves opposite;
Inflorescence 5-22 cm long, glabrous;
Sepals ovate to oblong, 3.1-5 by 2.3-4 mm, 1.1-2.2 times as long as wide, apex rounded, glabrous, not ciliate.
Stamens inserted in lower half of corolla tube;
Ovaries 2.7-4 mm long;
Fruit yellow or pale orange, ellipsoid, 4.2-7 by 0.8-2 by 0.8-2 cm, with prominent lateral ridges, apex acuminate.
Distribution
Asia-Tropical: Sulawesi (Sulawesi present), Papua New Guinea present, Rossel Island present
Malesia: Sulawesi, Papua New Guinea (Rossel Island).
Taxonomy
This species shows a very unusual distribution, separated between Sulawesi and Rossel Island off SE Papua New Guinea. Further collections may lead to a reassessment of this species and a further examination of its relationship with T. sphaerocarpa, particularly in Sulawesi. It should be noted, however, that a similar but even wider disjunction occurs in the better known Carruthersia pilosa and that one cannot assume that better collections will necessarily lead to the species being dismantled.