Tristiropsis acutangula Radlk.

Sapindaceae

Radlkofer, L.A.T. (1890) Dur., Index Gen. Phan. 20: 248. Type: Solomon Islands, Guppy 272 (K holo).

Fern Leaved Tamarind; Tamarind, Fern Leaved

A small tree probably not exceeding 40 cm dbh.

Leaves bipinnate, leaflet blades +/- elliptic, about 10-13 x 4.5-5.5 cm, leaflet stalks about 0.4-0.6 cm long. Small oil dots visible with a lens. Leaflet blades unequal-sided, particularly towards the base. Midrib +/- flush with the upper surface of the leaflet blade, lateral veins about 9-14 on each side of the midrib. Leaflet stalks swollen at their junction with the compound leaf rhachis. Terminal buds and young shoots clothed in short, brown, prostrate hairs.

Female flowers appear to mature before the male flowers. Calyx and corolla about 3-4 mm long. Petals with two broad scales near the base on the inner surface. Stamens about 8-10, anther filaments and back of the anthers hairy. Disk annular. Ovary clothed in brownish prostrate hairs. Ovules 1 per locule.

Fruits ellipsoid, minutely velvety outside, about 25-35 mm long, calyx persistent at the base, style persistent at the apex. Fruits woody, sparsely hairy on the inner surface. Seeds about 11-12 x 4 mm.

First pair of leaves pinnate or bipinnate and the leaflet margin coarsely serrate or lobed. At the tenth leaf stage: leaf pinnate and the leaflet margin coarsely serrate or lobed; the terminal bud and leaf bearing sections of the stem clothed in brown to rusty brown hairs.

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

Tristiropsis subangula K.Schum., Nachtrage zur Flora der Deutschen Schutzgebiete in der Sudsee : 310(1905), Type: Kaiser-Wilhelmsland: Finschafen (Weinland). Tristiropsis canarioides Valeton, Icones Bogorienses 2: t. 1(1906), Type: Hab. in nova-Guinea ubi legit TEYSMANN.