Cerbera floribunda
Content
Description
Tree to 40 m tall, mostly much smaller, to 60 cm dbh, mostly much less.
Bark grey to brown.
Leaves:
Inflorescence terminal, lax, 8-25 cm long, glabrous;
Sepals ovate to obovate, 4-14 by 2-8 mm, 1.5-3.5 times as long as wide, apex rounded to acuminate, spreading, mostly deciduous at corolla anthesis.
Stamens inserted at 5-10 mm from corolla base which is 0.4-0.6 of tube length;
Ovaries 1-1.5 mm high;
Fruit blue or purplish blue, each ellipsoid, 7.5-10.5 by 5-6.5 by 3-4 cm.
Distribution
Asia-Tropical: Maluku (Maluku present); New Guinea present, Solomon Islands present, Western Pacific Islands present
Western Pacific Islands, Solomon Islands; in Malesia: Moluccas, New Guinea.
Uses
The seeds contain an oil used externally for the treatment of skin ailments. The wood can be used for household items and packaging.
Citation
Kessler et al. 2002 – In: Blumea: 13
Leeuwenb. 1999 – In: Agric. Univ. Wageningen Pap.: 12
Markgr. 1926 – In: Nova Guinea: 284
K. Schum. & Lauterb. 1901: Fl. Schutzgeb. Südsee: 505
K. Schum. 1998 – In: PROSEA: 156
K. Schum. 1996 – In: Fl. Australia: 140
P.I. Forst. 1992 – In: Austrobaileya: 570