Large trees to shrubs. Buttresses present, or absent; short. Spines absent. Stilt roots absent. Bark not peeling in strips. Vertical stripes in the inner bark or wood absent. Odor absent. Exudate absent. Terminal buds not enclosed by leaves.
Complex hairs absent. Stinging hairs absent. Mature twig indumentum absent.
Leaves spiral; not scale-like; simple, or compound; pinnate; with a terminal leaflet; leaflets opposite; all of the same type; not modified into spines; coriaceous; not gland-dotted; 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. Smallest veins prominent, or 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, or swollen; swollen at one end. Stipules absent. Domatia absent. Basal glands absent. Hairs on mature leaf absent.
Inflorescences present; terminal, or axillary; on a branched axis; specialized inflorescence units absent; numerous and persistent inflorescence bracts absent. Flowers bisexual; stalked; with the parts barely visible to the eye, or about 0.5 cm long or across; round, or somewhat asymmetric; with male or female parts not raised on a column. Hypanthium absent. Disk present, or absent. Perianth present; with distinct calyx and corolla whorls. Sepals (3-)5; free; not persistent in fruit; not growing any further after flowering. Epicalyx absent. Petals present; 5; free; not fleshy; deciduous; not stalked; entire. Stamens 2-5; filaments present; free of each other; free of the perianth, or joined to the perianth; all equal in size; isomerous; alternating with the sepals (when isomerous). Anthers 2 loculed; not awned; dehiscing by long slits. Ovary superior. Carpels joined; 2-3. Locules 2-3. Styles solitary. Stigmas 1 lobed; not distinctive. Fruit drupaceous; fleshy; not multiple; not splitting; not enclosed in, or sitting on, fleshy perianth parts; wingless. Seeds less than 5 mm, or about 1 cm long; wingless; uniform in cross-section; aril absent; non-endospermic.
Leaves generally dark green with dark knees at the base of the blade in compound forms; veins distant and prominent; margin often distantly toothed; flowers small and zygomorphic. Taxon images: genmelio.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.
