Cyrtophyllum Reinw.

Timothy M. A. Utteridge and Laura V. S. Jennings (2022). Trees of New Guinea. Kew Publishing. Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew

Distribution

A small genus with five species from eastern India to eastern Malesia (to Sulawesi) but with a single specimen of Cyrtophyllum fragrans (Roxb.) DC.from Yapen Island recorded by Wong & Sugumaran (2012b).

Morphology General Habit

Trees 25–30 m tall; side branches showing Terminalia-type branching pattern

Morphology General Shoots

Vegetative shoot apices with light yellowish resin

Morphology Leaves

Leaf petiolar sheaths of a leaf pair fused and forming a shallow cup-like ochrea; petiolar base auricles absent

Morphology Reproductive morphology Inflorescences

Inflorescences axillary, cymose, often many-flowered

Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers

Flowers bisexual, small, up to 10 mm wide at the corolla mouth; calyx lobes 5; corolla white to creamy white, corolla lobes 5, overlapping to the right; stamens 5, typically two thirds or more exserted, anthers versatile, sagittate; style typically one third or more exserted; stigma capitate (knob-like)

Morphology Reproductive morphology Fruits

Fruits small, subglobose to slightly ellipsoid, up to about 10 mm in diameter; yellow-orange to bright red at maturity; with small amounts of translucent sticky latex in fruit epidermis and fruit wall; epidermis separating as a thin translucent film from pericarp

Morphology Reproductive morphology Seeds

Seeds polygonal.

Ecology

Cyrtophyllum is a genus of lowland to lower montane trees, and the specimen from New Guinea is found in ridge forest from 800 m elevation.

Recognition

The genus can be recognised because of the family characters (glabrous, no true stipules, leaves opposite etc.) and the axillary inflorescences with relatively smaller flowers (corollas narrow, the mouth often not more than 10 mm wide), exserted stamens and style and smaller fruits; the fruits may have some translucent sticky latex in the fruit wall when bruised or cut. However, because of the distribution of the genus, any ‘Fagraea-like’ specimens with relatively small flowers and fruits with translucent latex encountered in New Guinea, are more likely to be the morphologically similar Picrophloeus with terminal inflorescences.