Celastraceae

Celastrus L.

First published in Sp. Pl.: 196 (1753)
This genus is accepted
The native range of this genus is W. Indian Ocean to W. Pacific, America.

Descriptions

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

Distribution
A genus of c. 40 species found in Asia, Madagascar and the Americas, with three species in New Guinea. In Malesia, the taxa are usually lianas, but Celastrus novoguineensis Merr. & L.M.Perry has been recorded as a shrub or small tree.
Morphology General Habit
Usually scandent shrubs to lianas, or small trees to 10(–15) m (C. novoguineensis), glabrous, with oblong or circular gray lenticels
Morphology Leaves Stipules
Stipules small, linear, deciduous
Morphology Leaves
Leaves spirally arranged, margins subentire or serrate
Morphology Reproductive morphology Inflorescences
Inflorescences terminal (in C. novoguineensis), paniculate, many flowered
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers
Flowers bisexual, plants dioecious (in New Guinea), 5-merous, greenish or yellowish white; calyx campanulate, lobes imbricate; petals oblong; staminate flowers with 5 subsessile stamens, anthers longitudinally dehiscent, introrse, pistillate flowers with sterile stamens c. 1 mm long; disk membranous or fleshy, annular to cupuliform, entire or slightly 5-lobed, intrastaminal; ovary 3-locular, separate from or slightly adnate to disk; ovules erect, 1 or 2 per locule; style 3-lobed
Morphology Reproductive morphology Fruits
Fruit a subglobose capsule, yellowish, leathery, loculicidally dehiscent
Morphology Reproductive morphology Seeds
Seeds 3–6, ellipsoid, enclosed in a fleshy, red aril.
Ecology
Celastrus novoguineensis has been recorded from primary and disturbed montane forests, both in open areas and as an understorey shrub, to 3300 m elevation.
Recognition
The genus can be identified by the spirally arranged leaves with serrate margins, the terminal panicles of many small, whitish flowers, and the capsular fruit with the seeds covered in a red aril. In addition, C. novoguineensis usually has the secondary inflorescence branches coming over the main axis at right angles with almost subsessile flowers.
[TONG]

Sources

  • Herbarium Catalogue Specimens

    • 'The Herbarium Catalogue, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Published on the Internet http://www.kew.org/herbcat [accessed on Day Month Year]'. Please enter the date on which you consulted the system.

  • Kew Backbone Distributions

    • The International Plant Names Index and World Checklist of Vascular Plants 2025. Published on the Internet at http://www.ipni.org and https://powo.science.kew.org/
    • © Copyright 2023 World Checklist of Vascular Plants. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0

  • Kew Names and Taxonomic Backbone

    • The International Plant Names Index and World Checklist of Vascular Plants 2025. Published on the Internet at http://www.ipni.org and https://powo.science.kew.org/
    • © Copyright 2023 International Plant Names Index and World Checklist of Vascular Plants. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0

  • Trees of New Guinea

    • Trees of New Guinea
    • http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0