Chisocheton medusae

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Chisocheton medusae

Description

Pachycaul tree to 28 m; bole to 30 cm diam., sparsely branched, buttressed. Bark black with fine striations; inner bark dark brown; heartwood yellowish. Leaves to 2 m long, pseudogemmulate (imparipinnate and up to 4-jugate when young), bunched in terminal spirals; petiole 10–20 cm, terete or flattened adaxially, decurrent with twig and forming axillary cavity with it, ± fulvous tomentose; rachis somewhat angular, glabrescent to fulvous tomentose. Inflorescences to 30 cm long, borne in axils of upper or undeveloped leaves, weakly branched to narrowly paniculiform at base; axis flattened to angular, shortly fulvous tomentose when young, glabrescent later; branches rather more densely pubescent, few-flowered with caducous bracts; pedicels 3–20 mm, somewhat angular, light-brown hirtellous, articulated with pseudopedicel, swollen at articulation. Petals 9–14, 35–40 by 2–6 mm, white. Staminal tube 27–32 mm, glabrous, thin proximally, margin truncate; anthers 15–20, slightly exserted or included, 3–4 mm long, glabrous. Ovary in female flowers 3–5 mm diam., 7- or 8-locular, glabrous to densely yellow hairy; the style ± pubescent, especially below the stylehead 2 mm diam., discoid to shallowly cylindrical, glabrous. Capsule to 13 cm long, 10 cm diam., golden brown, densely hispid. Seeds to 5 cm long and orange-segment -shaped; the sarcotesta densely vascularized.

Distribution

Asia-Tropical: Borneo (Sabah present, Sarawak present), E Kalimantan present
Malesia: in northern Borneo (Sarawak, Sabah, E Kalimantan)

Taxonomy

This species has a short infructescence with sarcotestal seeds whereas its apparently closest ally Chisocheton macranthus has a flagclliform infructescence and arillate seeds. Chisocheton tomentosus (sarcotesta) and C. polyandrus (aril) are a similar pair but geographically vicarious.

Citation

Meijer 1967 – In: Bot. News Bull. Sabah: 78
Mabb. 1979 – In: Bull. Brit. Mus. Nat. Hist., Bot.: 322.
Jacobs 1955: p. 264. – In: Reinwardtia: incl. f. hiascens Jacobs