Australian Tropical Rainforest Plants - Online edition

Celtis philippensis Blanco


Shrub (woody or herbaceous, 1-6 m tall)
Tree
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Illustration of leaves and fruit. © Northern Territory Government
Scan of leaf. © Northern Territory Government
Scale bar 10mm. © CSIRO
Family

Blanco, F.M. (1837), Flora de Filipinas : 197. Type: Malaitmo, Collector unknown.

Common name

Malaiino; Celtis; Kaju Lulu

Stem

Tree to 4-25 m, seldom exceeding 30 cm dbh. Bark hard to cut. Blaze conspicuously speckled, darkening on exposure to purplish brown.

Leaves

Leaf blades oblong to ovate, acuminate, 6-18 x 3.5-8.5 cm, glabrous; base cuneate to truncate; petioles glabrous, occasionally sparsely pubescent, petioles 5-8 mm long; juveniles leaves with serrate or crenate margins. Oil dots visible with a lens or just visible to the naked eye. Two main lateral veins arise at the very base of the leaf blade and run almost to the apex.

Flowers

Male inflorescence paniculate with up to 40 flowers, each flower about 2 mm diam. Stigmatic arms bilobed in female flowers. Female flowers borne in mixed inflorescences containing up to 50 flowers, each flower about 2-2.5 x 1 mm.

Fruit

Fruits globular, about 9-11 mm diam., endocarp smooth. Cotyledons folded once.

Seedlings

Features not available.

Distribution and Ecology

Occurs in NT, CYP, NEQ and CEQ. Altitudinal range from sea level to 780 m. Grows in monsoon forest and drier, more seasonal rain forest. Also occurs in Africa, Madagascar, Asia, Malesia and the Solomon Islands.

Natural History & Notes

Food plant for the larval stages of the Common Aeroplane and Tailed Emperor Butterflies. Common & Waterhouse (1981).

Synonyms

Celtis australiensis SattarianBlumea 50: 499 (2005), Type: Western Australia, Geikie Gorge, 14 May 1992, Telford 11722. Holo: CBG. Iso: BISH, BRI, L, NSW,PERTH. 

RFK Code
650
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