Planchonella xylocarpa (C.T.White) Swenson, Bartish & Munzinger

Sapotaceae

Swenson, U., Bartish, I.V. & Munzinger, J. (2007) Cladistics 23: 222.

Apple, Claudie River; Planchonella; Claudie River Apple

Bark exudate not copious, more or less confined to the inner blaze. Small orange speckles apparent in the outer blaze.

Petioles and twigs produce a milky exudate. Leaf blades rather large, about 11-40 x 4-10 cm. Lateral veins curving inside the margin but not forming definite loops.

Sepals ovate, about 1.2-2 x 1.2-2 mm, sparsely yellow sericeous on the outer surface, but glabrous inside. Corolla about 1.5-2.5 mm long, stamens inserted in the basal third, filaments about 0.5 mm long, anthers about 0.5 mm long. Staminodes lanceolate, up to 1 mm long. Ovary about 1 mm long, yellow-brown, hirsute. Style about 1-1.5 mm long, stigma 5-lobed.

Fruits globose or subglobose, about 35-80 x 30-80 mm. Seeds up to five per fruit, obliquely fusiform, about 20-25 x 8-10 x 2-5 mm. Testa hard and woody, hilum about 1.5 mm wide and as long as the seed.

Cotyledons oblong-ovate, fleshy, about 30-35 mm long. First pair of leaves elliptic, both the upper and lower surfaces sparsely hairy. At the tenth leaf stage: leaves obovate, apex acuminate, base cuneate, upper surface glabrous or with a few scattered hairs along the midrib, lateral veins about 8-12 each side of the midrib; petiole, stem and terminal bud clothed in almost prostrate, reddish-brown hairs. Seed germination time 41 days.

Occurs in CYP, known only from the Claudie River area. Altitudinal range from near sea level to 100 m. Grows in well developed gallery forest and drier, more seasonal rain forest. Also occurs in New Guinea.

Bureavella xylocarpa (C.T.White) Aubrev., Adansonia 3: 332(1963). Pouteria xylocarpa C.T.White, Journal of the Arnold Arboretum 31: 111(1950), Type: Solomon Islands. Planchonella ripicola P.Royen, Blumea 8: 372(1957), Type: New Guinea, Vogelkop Peninsula, Sorong, van Royen 3098 (L).