Up to 62(-80?) by 1½-2¼ (-47) m; clear bole up to 30 m, crown semi-globular, branching made about in pagoda habit; bark grey, thin, ½-5 mm diam.; heartwood absent; wood soft, light (SG 0.34). Buttresses up to 5-10(-15?) by 6 m. Leaf blade 12-30 by 6-23 cm, those of young trees and suckers much larger, margin in juvenile specimens sometimes with a few coarse teeth; nerves rufous, tertiary nerves crossbar-like; petiole 6-30 cm. ♂ Spikes 20-60 cm. Bracts lanceolate, acute, 2 mm long. ♂ Flowers 4-5 by 5 mm, lobes ovate-triangular, acute, 2 mm long. Petals triangular, 3 mm long, apex thickened, with an incurved subulate appendage forming a descending column in bud. Stamens ca 4 mm, filament thick, anther 2 mm. ♀ Flowers in 8-12 cm long spikes, ca 5 mm long; ovary 1-2 mm high, free calyx tube 2-4 mm high, lobes broadly triangular, ca 1 by 2 mm. Styles 1-2 mm, fleshy, thick, flattened; stigma 0.5 mm high, over 1 mm diam. Fruiting spikes 15-40 cm long, on 10-20 cm long peduncles. Capsule 12 mm long, endocarp splitting from the apex nearly to the base, ca 1 cm long. Seeds ca 1 by 0.25 mm, weighing ca 0.00005 Gr.
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An evergreen tree. It grows 60-75 m tall. The trunk is straight and can be 3-4 m across. The bark is grey and cracked. The small branches are 3 angled. The leaves are simple and arranged in spirals. They are heart shaped and 12-30 cm long by 6-23 cm wide. Male and female flowers are separate. Male flowering shoots are 20-60 cm long and female ones 8-12 cm long. Flowers are bell shaped. The fruiting bodies are made up of 100 fruit. The fruit are capsules 11-14 mm long. The outer layer is dark green and the inner is yellow. The seeds are small.
Uses. The wood is soft, coarse-textured and brittle, but the timber can only be used under cover where a weak, perishable timber will suffice. The colossal stems are, however, suitable for making large canoes. The timber industry is still interested in it (cf. Mal. For. 14 1951 229 ). In Borneo Octomeles represents one of the lofty 'bee-trees'.
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Young leaves are cooked as a vegetable.