Small trees to shrubs. Buttresses absent. Spines present; on branches (solitary or paired). Stilt roots absent. Bark brown; not peeling in strips. Exudate absent. Terminal buds not enclosed by leaves.
Complex hairs absent. Stinging hairs absent. Mature twig indumentum absent.
Leaves spiral; not scale-like; simple; all of the same type; not modified into spines; leathery; gland-dotted; symmetric at the base; not dissected; smooth margined, or wavy 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, or not visible; net like. Intramarginal vein present. Stalk of blade less than a quarter the length of the blade; not winged; attached to base of leaf blade; swollen; swollen at one end. Stipules absent. Domatia absent. Basal glands absent. Hairs on mature leaf absent.
Inflorescences present, or represented by solitary flowers only; axillary; the flowers from a single point on the stem; specialized inflorescence units absent; numerous and persistent inflorescence bracts absent. Flowers bisexual; stalked; about 0.5 cm long or across, or to about 3 cm long or across; round; with male or female parts raised on a column; with the female parts of the flower raised on a stalk. Hypanthium absent. Disk present; the stamens outside the disk. Perianth present; with distinct calyx and corolla whorls. Sepals 5; 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; filaments present; free of each other; free of the perianth; all equal in size; diplostemonous. Anthers 2 loculed; attached along the side; not awned; dehiscing by long slits. Ovary superior. Carpels joined; (3-)4. Locules (3-)4. Styles solitary. Stigmas 1 lobed; distinctive; disk-like. Fruit berry-like; fleshy; not multiple; not splitting; not enclosed in, or sitting on, fleshy perianth parts; wingless. Seeds 5-100 per fruit (many); less than 5 mm, or about 1 cm long; wingless; uniform in cross-section; aril absent; endospermic.
Mangrove small tree or shrub with stout spines to 5 cm long; fruits triangular; seeds large. Taxon images: merope.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.
