Cordia dichotoma
Content
Description
Tree or shrub, 6-20(-27) m high.
Leaves: petiole 1-4.5 cm long; blade ovate, ovate-lanceolate, broadly ovate, rarely suborbicular, 2—12(—16 in sterile branches) by 1.2-10 cm, margin entire, wavy, sometimes crenulate towards apex, papyraceous to coriaceous, base rounded-decurrent to oblique truncate to subcordate, apex acute, acuminate, obtuse to rounded, nerves (3-)4-5 on each side, prominent below, mostly small whitish, flat groups of mineralized cells in 2 circles on upper, sparsely hairy or with more numerous hairs along nerves on lower side.
Inflorescence subcorymbose to subthyrsoid, with pseudo-dichotomous branching, terminal on slender lateral branches with 2-4 leaves, rarely lateral, with a highly variable number of flowers.
Stamens long exserted.
Fruit ovoid, c. 10(—15) mm long, c. 8(—10) mm in transverse diam.
Distribution
Alor present, Asia-Tropical: Borneo present; Jawa (Jawa present); Lesser Sunda Is. (Bali present); Malaya (Peninsular Malaysia present, Singapore present); Maluku (Maluku present); New Guinea present; Philippines (Philippines present); Sulawesi (Sulawesi present); Sumatera (Sumatera present), Flores present, Lombok present, New Caledonia present, Sumbawa present, Timor present
New Caledonia; Malesia: Sumatra, Peninsular Malaysia, Singapore, Borneo, Java, Philippines, Celebes, Lesser Sunda Islands (Bali, Lombok, Sumbawa, Flores, Alor, Timor), Moluccas, New Guinea.
Notes
Especially unusual collections include: Vera Santos 4707 (Philippines, Cagayan du Sulu, Mt Kamutyajan) with ovate, grossly dentate, leathery leaves, flowers 8 mm long, calyx 6 mm long, 6-7 mm wide already in flower; Gebo UPNG 234 (New Guinea, Central Province, Port Moresby District, on mountain summit) with dark brown twigs, broadly ovate to suborbicular, grossly dentate leaves, calyx c. 4 mm long, corollas included in calyx.
In general, variability of this extremely polymorphic species increases from West to East. In the Philippines, leaves are usually strictly flat and entire at the margin. On New Guinea, there are also species with very large (long and broad), entire leaves.
Citation
Dayang Awa 1996: p. 98. – In: Tree Fl. Sabah & Sarawak: f. 2
C.B.Rob. 1909 – In: Philipp. J. Sc., Bot.: 688
Merr. 1912: Fl. Manila: 393
RidL 1923 – In: Fl. Malay Penins.: 439
I.M.Johnston 1951 – In: J. Arnold Arbor. 32: 8
Ridl. 1923 – In: Fl. Malay Penins.: 439
Ng 1989 – In: Tree Fl. Malaya: 60
Backer & Bakh. f., 1965 – In: Fl. Java: 459