Large trees. Buttresses absent. Spines absent. Stilt roots absent. Bark gray, brown; not peeling in strips. Slash yellow. Vertical stripes in the inner bark or wood absent. Odor absent. Exudate absent. Terminal buds not enclosed by leaves.
Complex hairs present; disk-shaped. Stinging hairs absent. Mature twig indumentum absent.
Leaves spiral; not scale-like; compound; bipinnate, or multiply compound; with a terminal leaflet; leaflets opposite; all of the same type; not modified into spines; coriaceous; not gland-dotted; very asymmetric at the base, or symmetric at the base; not dissected; smooth margined, or with small to large teeth on margin. Epidermis not waxy. Venation pinnate. Secondary veins open; prominent, or not prominent, but visible. Smallest veins not prominent, but visible; net like. Intramarginal vein present, or absent. Stalk of blade less than a quarter the length of the blade; not winged; attached to base of leaf blade; not swollen. Stipules absent. Domatia absent. Basal glands absent. Hairs on mature leaf present; sparse.
Inflorescences present; axillary; on a branched axis; specialized inflorescence units absent; numerous and persistent inflorescence bracts absent. Flowers bisexual; stalked; about 0.5 cm long or across; round; with male or female parts not raised on a column. Hypanthium absent. Disk present; the stamens outside the disk. Perianth present; with distinct calyx and corolla whorls. Sepals 5(-6); partially joined; not persistent in fruit; not growing any further after flowering. Epicalyx absent. Petals present; 5(-6); free; not fleshy; deciduous; not stalked; entire. Stamens 10(-12); filaments present; joined (in a tube); free of the perianth; of different sizes; diplostemonous. Anthers 2 loculed; attached by the base; not awned; dehiscing by long slits. Ovary superior. Carpels joined; 4-8. Locules 4-8. Styles solitary. Stigmas 4-8 lobed; not distinctive. Fruit drupaceous; fleshy; not multiple; not splitting; not enclosed in, or sitting on, fleshy perianth parts; wingless. Seeds 3-16 per fruit; less than 5 mm; wingless; uniform in cross-section; aril absent; endospermic.
Leaves bi- or tripinnate; stellate hairs present; fruit loculed. Taxon images: melia.gif
Cite this publication as: Jarvie, J.K. and
Ermayanti (1996 onwards). `Tree Genera of Borneo – Descriptions and
Illustrations’ URL
http://django.harvard.edu/users/jjarvie/Borneo.htm/.
Dallwitz (1980) and Dallwitz,
Paine and Zurcher (1993) should also be cited.
