Flora of Papua New Guinea 
Lae National Herbarium 
9297 Apocynaceae 
Melodinus forbesii Fawcett 
Morobe province; Atzera Range, lowland forest near the 9 mile 
settlement, elev. 200-400 m. 
inermous woody climber; lactiferous, twigs medium brown, terete, 
smooth except for numerous elongate lenticels, apical parts pale yellow- 
green and puberulent; leaves opposite, divaricate, exstipulate, glabrous, 
adaxial side glossy dark geen x abaxially dull yellow green; fruits not 
seen; inflorescence axillary and terminal, in congested dichasial cymes, 
all axes pale green and puberulent, bracteate; flowers weakly aromatic, 
5-merous; calyx deeply cleft, lobes obtuse, imbricate, light green, 
puberulent with ciliolate margins; corolla sympetalous, hypocrateriform, 
levocontorted, entirely white except for the yellow throat, outer surface 
puberulent, inside pilose; androecium adnate to the corolla near its base, 
filaments pilose, short, anthers connivent, sagittate, basifixed, introrse, 
anthercells opening lengthwise; gynoecium without disk, ovary 1, pale 
yellow-white, glabrous, with a single thickened style, stigma white, bifid, 
provided at the base with a collar or perhaps cucullate?, the head 
appendaged with lorate ligules. 
photos 1993-278 to -280; flowers bottled. 
coll: W. Takeuchi 9297 
date: Dec. 13, 1993 
det.: WT 
Flora of Papua New Guinea 
Lae National Herbarium 
9300 Gesneriaceae 
Rhynchotechum discolor (Maxim.) B.L. Burtt 
Morobe province; Atzera Range, inland from the 9 mile settlement; 
disturbed lowland forest at elev. 200-400 m. 
with 9297; common near streams, woody subshrub 50 cm height, erect, 
unbranched; stems terete, dark brown at the base becoming light yellow 
green at the summit, foliar interval pale brown lanate; leaves alternate, 
spiral, obliquely spreading, pilose on both surfaces, thickly herbaceous 
withering quickly after collecting, adaxial side dark dull green and rugose 
x abaxially discolorously very pale green with all veins prominent; lamina 
oblanceolate, apex acute, margin serrulate, base attenuate/decurrent, 
typical blade 16 cm x 5 cm; petiole c. 4-7 cm, yellow-green, flattened 
above, puberulous; venation unicostate, conspicuously pinnativeined, 
laterals 8-10 pairs, oblique and arcuate, not closing at the margins but 
excurrently progressively ramifying; inflorescence axillary at foliated or 
aphyllous nodes, cymose and condensed umbelliform, axial length 
typically 2-3 cm, pedunculate, all axes covered by a pale brown and 
woolly indumentum, variously bracteate; flowers 5-merous, the calyx 
green and pilose, segments linear, cleft nearly to the base; corolla white, 
glabrous, tube obsolete, limb with segments subequal; stamens 4 (not 5), 
conform, glabrous, epipetalous, adnate to the highly contracted tube, 
filaments white, contorted, at least 2 anthers connivent and cohering by 
their heads; ovary umbonate-ovoid, puberulent, style short and glabrate, 
stigma not noticeably dilate; berries small and subglobose, slightly 
compressed between the poles, subapiculate with a style rest at the apex, 
epicarp glabrous, translucent white; seeds numerous, somewhat ellipsoid 
but irregularly so, no appendages, testa lineate but otherwise smooth, 
shiny brown, placentae axile. 
coll: W. Takeuchi 9300 
date: Dec. 13, 1993 
det.: WT 
