Flora of Papua New Guinea 
Lae National Herbarium 
10043 Malvaceae 
Hibiscus archboldianus Borss. 
East Sepik Province, near Langu village; from margins of Metroxylon 
swamp and on lower slopes of adjacent hills, elev. 40-200 m, near 
4° 11’ S, 142° 44’ E. 
w. 10042; tree on hillside; occasional, population flowering; twigs 
terete, smooth and glabrous; leaves alternate, spiral, lepidote, 
stipulate; the stipules ovate and foliaceous, persisting through 
several nodes; lamina papery, adaxial surface dark dull green x 
abaxially slightly lighter green, blades variable in form: suborbicular 
to cordate, average 13.5 (with basal sinus included) x 12.5 cm, apex 
shortly and bluntly acuminate, margin entire, base mostly cordate; 
petiole to c. 9 cm, slender, strictly terete, glabrous, slightly swollen at 
both ends; leaf venation palmate at the petiole, the laterals secund 
toward the margin, midrib penninerved near the top, with approx. 6 
equispaced and acroscopically curved laterals, intercostals 
generally angled toward the midvein, main nervation approx, flush or 
weakly raised on the upper side, prominulous beneath; flowers 
solitary in the axils, showy; epicalyx present, composed of 7 foliose 
and induplicated bracteoles, green, the segments free; calyx 
synsepalous on the basal 1/3, lobes cuneate, green and glabrous on 
the exterior surface, sepals 5; corolla choripetalous, pinkish-red, 5, 
venose, stellately scabridulous, papery; androecium monadelphous, 
entirely antheriferous, the column pink; styles 5, exserted from the 
column, stigmas green, conspicuously discoid; capsules conical, 5- 
valved, 10-celled, obscured by the calyx, surface strigose and also 
with a mat of shorter hairs. 
Waskuk name- nikaku.’ The trunk bark is thick and durable. When 
removed in long strips, it is a preferred material for flooring village 
shacks, and is also employed as a sleeping mat. 
coll: W. Takeuchi 10043 
date: August 15, 1994 
det. WT 
