Barringtonia serenae Jebb & Prance

Species

Angiosperms > Ericales > Lecythidaceae > Barringtonia

Characteristics

Trees, leptocaul, c. 20 m tall, upright, c. 25 cm diam. Branches pendulous, upcurved at ends, sparsely branched; internodes 8-40 cm long, ultimate twigs 8-16 mm. Leaves in whorls of 8-11(-16) at branch apices only, in upper half of internodes; petioles 2-7 cm, rounded below, flattened above with 2 abrupt ridges along the top margin contiguous with the lamina, to 0.8 cm thick; pulvinate in lower ⅓ to ½ and there to 12 mm thick, scabrous, grey-brown, glabrous, green; lamina flat, obovate, 13-39(-60) by 5.5-16.5(-24) cm, coriaceous, base tapering, slightly confluent, abruptly cuneate, margin flat, asymmetrically crenulate, and minutely apiculate between crenulations, these becoming worn, ± entire towards base, apex acuminate; midrib rounded and prominent beneath, prominulous with a narrow abrupt ridge above, veins 10-14 pairs, prominulous above, prominent beneath, arising obliquely, arched and united at margin, intercostal veins prominulous on both surfaces, parallel and arranged at right angles to veins. Cataphylls leaf-like, below whorls obovate, apetiolate; at stem apices broad-ovate, smallest c. 0.9 by 0.6 cm, base truncate, margin serrate, apex acute. Inflorescences lateral, from old leaf axils of branches, to 4 cm diam., rarely terminal on leafless shoots, pendulous, solitary to clusters of 3-5, each arising in old leaf axils; 30-35 by c. 0.5 cm; striate; bracts to 5 by 1 mm, minutely serrulate, caducous. Flowers 20-28, opening 1-3 at a time; pedicels to 3 mm long and 2 mm diam., thickened at their apices, articulate; buds spherical, apiculate, closed, to 14 mm diam., splitting circumscissily at their widest point, glabrous, pale green flushed with pink; calyx cupuliform, developing a red margin after flower has fallen; hypanthium triangular, c. 6 by 9 mm, without appendages; petals 4, obovate, to 38 by 22 mm, apex rounded, fleshy at centre, membranaceous to margin, gently recurved along their length, but strongly recurved in open flower, giving the appearance of triangular tapering petals, c. 10 mm wide, apex acute, blade puberulous, white, flushed with pink along the lower margins; stamens 200-250, in numerous whorls, 30-40 by c. 0.5 mm, including the connate base, shortest towards centre of flower, arising in numerous whorls from the thick-walled (c. 2.5 mm) staminiferous tube, latter c. 8 mm long by 6 mm wide internally, innermost whorl staminoidal, to 20 mm long, flattened, unbranched, tapering, anthers elliptic, 4-celled, c. 1.5 by 1 mm; disc c. 8 mm across, with an annular scar from the staminiferous tube, within this scar a prominent, narrow, sharp-edged, cupuliform rim to 1 mm tall and 5 mm diam., sloping inwards to base of style, yellow; ovary 4-locular, each locule with 2 ovules, style 20-23 by c. 1 mm, tapering, stigma flattened, capitate, to 2 mm across, ± 4-lobed; white below, deep red in upper half, stigma yellow. Fruits unknown.
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Growth form tree
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Foliage retention evergreen
Sexuality hermaphrodite
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Distribution

Barringtonia serenae world distribution map, present in Papua New Guinea

Conservation status

Barringtonia serenae threat status: Critically Endangered

Identifiers

LSID urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:77112812-1
WFO ID wfo-0000922993
COL ID KSF2
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Wikipedia (EN)
Wikipedia (FR)

Synonyms

Barringtonia serenae