Sterculia monticola (PROSEA)
Introduction |
Sterculia monticola Mildbr.
- Protologue: Bot. Jahrb. Syst. 62: 363 (1929).
Distribution
Papua New Guinea.
Uses
The wood is reputed to be used.
Observations
A medium-sized tree up to 32 m tall, with bole up to 55 cm in diameter, buttresses up to 2.5 m high, bark surface smooth between shallow longitudinal and transverse cracks, lenticellate, greyish-brown, inner bark straw-coloured, twigs rather stout, 6-7 mm in diameter; leaves simple and entire, ovate, elliptical, oblong or oblong-obovate, (6-)10-18(-35) cm × (3-)7-8(-16) cm, obtuse or rounded at base, sparsely stellate or peltate-stellate hairy below, petiole 2-4 cm long, stipules ovate, caducous; inflorescence axillary, racemose; calyx with obconical or campanulate tube glabrous but sometimes hairy inside and 5 lanceolate, converging lobes, male flowers with 15-24 anthers; follicles 2-3, suborbicular or boat-shaped, 5-8 cm long, brown or brownish-green outside, red inside; seed ellipsoid, c. 1.5 cm long, black. Three varieties have been distinguished, mainly based on the size of the leaves and hairiness of the inner side of the calyx tube. S. monticola occurs in mixed forest on hills and montane forest together with Nothofagus spp. up to 2150 m altitude. The wood is orange-straw coloured, becomiing dark purplish-brown towards the centre of the bole.
Selected sources
632.