Falcatifolium papuanum

de Laub. 1969

Common names

Mungag [Hagen Togoba]; tugl [Wahgi, Minj] (de Laubenfels 1988).

Taxonomic notes

Syn: Dacrydium falciforme [not (Parl.) Pilger] Laut. (de Laubenfels 1988), Falcatifolium sleumeri de Laub. & Silba 1988. The latter case is interesting, and perhaps unique among the gymnosperms. In 1969 P. van Royen and H.O. Sleumer collected a sterile specimen from a dwarfed plant growing at 1920 m elevation on Mt. Nettioti in the Vogelkop Peninsula. Van Royen did not mention this plant in his Alpine Flora of New Guinea (van Royen 1979), but in 1988 de Laubenfels and Silba described a new species on the basis of this single specimen. Farjon (2010) notes that the leaves from the specimen are very similar to the sun foliage of F. papuanum, which de Laubenfels (1988) describes as occurring in the mountains of the Vogelkop Peninsula (map at right). No other specimen of this species has ever been found; pending further discoveries, it is here treated as a synonym of F. papuanum.

Description

"Tree 6-22 m tall, 8-40 cm diam. Seedling leaves 6-18 by 0.6-0.8 mm. Juvenile leaves the same as the smaller adult leaves, glaucous beneath. Adult leaves falcate and then more or less linear in the distal part of the leaf or tapering slightly, narrowing almost abruptly to an apiculate apex, the apex occasionally bent slightly forward, 10-20 by 2-4 mm. Pollen cones 5-13 mm long and 2-2.5 mm diam. Receptacle and seed each 6-7 mm longt; (de Laubenfels 1988).

Distribution and Ecology

New Guinea, moist mountain forests at 1500-2400 m . Grows in the understory; typical associates include Nothofagus, Myrtaceae and other Podocarpaceae (de Laubenfels 1988).

Remarkable Specimens

No data as of 2023.02.21.

Ethnobotany

No data as of 2023.02.21.

Observations

No data as of 2023.02.21.

Remarks

"An entire plant scarcely 20 cm tall with tiny leaves mentioned and illustrated in the type description from the Vogelkop either represents perhaps a reduced form of exposed ridges or a distinct new species" (de Laubenfels 1988).

Citations

Laubenfels, D. J. de. 1969. A revision of the Malesian and Pacific rainforest conifers, I. Podocarpaceae, in part. Journal of the Arnold Arboretum 50:312. Available: Biodiversity Heritage Library, accessed 2021.12.24.

See also