Large trees to small trees. Buttresses absent. Spines absent. Stilt roots present. Bark yellow, green, gray; not peeling in strips. Slash cream, brown. Vertical stripes in the inner bark or wood present, or absent. Odor absent. Exudate absent. Terminal buds not enclosed by leaves.
Complex hairs absent. Stinging hairs absent. Mature twig indumentum absent.
Leaves opposite; not scale-like; simple; all of the same type; not modified into spines; leathery, or fleshy; not gland-dotted; symmetric at the base; not dissected; smooth margined. Epidermis not waxy. Venation trinerved. Secondary veins open; not prominent, but visible, or not 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; not swollen. Stipules absent. Domatia absent. Basal glands absent. Hairs on mature leaf absent.
Inflorescences present, or represented by solitary flowers only; terminal; 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 not raised on a column. Hypanthium present. Disk absent. Perianth present; with distinct calyx and corolla whorls. Sepals 4-8; free, or partially joined; persistent in fruit; growing slightly after flowering. Epicalyx absent. Petals present, or absent; 4-8; free; not fleshy; deciduous; not stalked; entire. Stamens 100 (many); filaments present; free of each other; joined to the perianth (calyx); all equal in size; polystemonous. Anthers 2 loculed; attached along the side; not awned; dehiscing by long slits. Ovary partly inferior. Carpels joined; 10-100 (many). Locules 10-100 (many). Styles solitary. Stigmas 1 lobed; distinctive; head shaped. Fruit berry-like; fleshy; not multiple; not splitting; enclosed in, or sitting on, the fleshy perianth (calyx); wingless. Seeds 100 per fruit (many); less than 5 mm; wingless; uniform in cross-section; aril absent; non-endospermic.
Mangrove trees with aerial roots; leaves opposite and without stipules; fruit a large berry with an enlarged and persistent calyx. Taxon images: sonnerat.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.
