Anacolosa papuana G.Schellenb.

Schellenberg, G.A.L.D. (1923) Botanische Jahrbucher 58 : 157. Type: Nordostl. Neu-Guinea: In den Waldern des Bismarck-Gebirges, M. (Schlechter n. 18668! --- bluhend im November).

Usually flowers and fruits as a shrub about 2-3 m tall but in New Guinea it has been recorded as a tree to 15 m tall.

Twigs slightly zig-zagged. Leaf blades glabrous, about 12-15.5 x 4.5-6.5 cm. Petioles quite short, about 0.3-0.8 cm long. Lateral veins forming very distinct loops inside the blade margin. Basal pair of veins subtend a lower angle with the midrib than subsequent veins.

Flowers about 2-8 in each fascicle. Pedicels about 0.5-2 mm long. Calyx cupular, about 3 mm diam. Petals about 2-4 x 1 mm, recurved at anthesis. Stamens about 5-7, filaments flat, anthers bearded at the apex (stamens resemble cobras). Disk cupular. Ovary ovoid, style very short.

Fruits shiny red, subglobular to slightly obovoid, about 15-35 x 13-25 mm, depressed at the apex, calyx persistent at the base. Endocarp woody. Embryo small, about 3 mm long, slightly below the apex of the seed. Cotyledons 3, the largest one slightly wider than the radicle.

A few cataphylls normally produced before the first true leaves. First true leaf ovate, margin smooth. Second leaf narrowly elliptic, margin smooth. Petioles narrowly winged with the wings extending down the stem. Taproot thick and carrot-like (Daucus carota). At the tenth leaf stage: seedling glabrous throughout. Leaf blade elliptic, apex acute, base cuneate-obtuse, decurrent with a ridge running down the stem from each side of the petiole. Lateral veins forming loops inside the blade margin. Tap root thickened. Seed germination time 126 days.

Occurs in CYP. Altitudinal range not known but collected at elevations of 50-60 m. Grows as an understory plant in lowland and gallery rain forest. Also occurs in New Guinea and the Solomon Islands.