Large trees to shrubs. Buttresses absent. Spines absent. Stilt roots absent. Bark gray, brown; not peeling in strips. Slash brown. Vertical stripes in the inner bark or wood absent. Odor absent. Exudate absent. Terminal buds not enclosed by leaves.
Complex hairs present, or absent; star-like. Stinging hairs absent. Mature twig indumentum present, or absent; dense, or sparse.
Leaves opposite; not scale-like; simple, or compound; with three leaflets; with a terminal leaflet; leaflets opposite; all of the same type; not modified into spines; coriaceous, or leathery; gland-dotted; symmetric at the base; not dissected; smooth margined (usual), or wavy margined. Epidermis not waxy. Venation pinnate. Secondary veins open; prominent, or not prominent, but visible. Smallest veins not prominent, but visible, or not visible; net like. Intramarginal vein present. Stalk of blade absent, or less than a quarter the length of the blade; winged, or not winged; attached to base of leaf blade; not swollen, or swollen; swollen at one end. Stipules absent. Domatia absent. Basal glands absent. Hairs on mature leaf present; dense, or sparse.
Inflorescences present, or represented by solitary flowers only; terminal, or axillary; on an unbranched axis, or on a branched axis; specialized inflorescence units absent; numerous and persistent inflorescence bracts absent. Flowers bisexual, or at least some flowers unisexual; with male and female flowers on the same plant; 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 4; partially joined; not persistent in fruit; not growing any further after flowering. Epicalyx absent. Petals present; 4; free; not fleshy; deciduous; not stalked; entire. Stamens 4-8; filaments present; free of each other; free of the perianth; all equal in size; isomerous, or diplostemonous. Anthers 2 loculed; attached along the side; not awned; dehiscing by long slits. Ovary superior. Carpels joined, or partially joined, by base; 4. Locules 4. Styles solitary. Stigmas 4 lobed; distinctive; head shaped, or disk-like. Fruit capsular, or follicular; non-fleshy; not multiple; splitting; not enclosed in, or sitting on, fleshy perianth parts; wingless. Seeds 4-8 per fruit; less than 5 mm; wingless; uniform in cross-section; aril absent; endospermic.
Leaves opposite, uni- or trifoliate; gland dotted; flowers 4-merous; fruits basally attached follicles or a capsule; seeds glossy black colored. Taxon images: melicope.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.
