228 EUPHORBIACEAE 
the leaves sparsely pilose with antrorsely curved 
stiff hairs. Stipules minute, gland tipped. Leaves 
alternate; petioles 10-18 mm long, grooved above, 
with minute, digitate glands at junction of blade; 
blade discolorous, ovate or elliptic, 24-35 mm long, 
10-16 mm wide, L/B 1.6-2.4, lateral veins at an 
acute angle, surfaces finely pellucid dotted, base 
rounded to cuneate, margin regularly serrate, lobes 
incurved so that the minute apical glands are in 
Micrococca 
the sinuses, apex acute. Inflorescence axillary, 
racemose, to 60 mm long. Flowers monoecious. 
Fruit a reddish, dehiscent, 3-locular capsule with 1 
seed per locule; 4 mm diam., sparsely pilose. 
Seeds red or grey, c. 2 mm diam., pitted, ecarunculate. 
Flowering and fruiting: Wet season. Fig. 74 
Native to tropical Africa and India. An uncommon 
weed of gardens in Darwin. 
OMALANTHUS A.Juss. 
Homalanthus A.Juss., orth. variant 
A genus of 35 species found in Indo-Malesia, Polynesia and northern Australia, where 3 species are known. 
In the NT and DR | species occurs. 
O. novo-guineensis (Warb.) Lauterb. & K.Schum. 
A shrub or small tree to 15 m with light brown 
bark bearing old leaf scars. Glabrous throughout. 
Stipules caducous, pale yellow, lanceolate, 13-22 mm 
long, 4-5 mm wide. Juvenile leaves cordate, to 265 
mm long, 233 mm wide on petioles to 325 mm long. 
Leaves alternate; petioles 9-140 mm long; blades 
discolorous, ovate, broadly ovate or suborbicular, 
(43)73-176 mm long, (28)50-129 mm wide, L/B 1.0- 
1.7, with distinct sub-parallel secondary and tertiary 
veins, base rounded or truncate, 3-veined, + with 2 
flat elliptical glands on the blade below and | raised 
discoid gland at the junction of the petiole and blade 
above, margin entire, apex acuminate or acute. 
Inflorescence a terminal raceme, (20)50-180(275) mm 
long. Flowers in short fascicles of c. 3, subtended by 
a fan-like bract above a compound gland, monoecious. 
Male flowers: peduncles to 2 mm long: sepals 2, fan- 
like, 1-2 mm long; petals 0; stamens usually 6-10, 
almost sessile, in two rows; disk absent. Female flow- 
ers: peduncles to 3 mm long; calyx and corolla as for 
male flowers; ovary bilocular; styles persistent, 2, 
connate at base, divaricate, recurved, c. 0.5 mm long. 
Fruit mauve, dehiscent, flattened ellipsoid-ovoid, 
bilocular, c. 9 mm long, 8-9 mm wide, surface mealy, 
the thin capsule containing two brown seeds enclosed 
in a thin bright yellow fleshy layer. Flowering: most 
months, peaking in Oct; fruiting: July - Jan. Fig. 73 
In eastern Malesia including the Moluccas, Lesser 
Sunda Is., New Guinea, Solomon Is., and in northern 
Australia from the Kimberley to Cape York. 
Common in the DR within its very restricted habitat. 
Grows in monsoon forest with a high permanent 
watertable. 
PETALOSTIGMA F.Muell. 
Trees or shrubs with simple hairs, eglandular. Stipules caducous. Leaves alternate, mostly entire. Flowers 
dioecious, in short axillary fascicles. Fruit a globular capsule, orange-brown, thinly fleshy, explosively dehiscent, 
3-4-locular with 1 seed per locule. Seeds pale brown, shiny, flattened-ellipsoid, carunculate, c. 8 mm long. 
A genus of 6 species occurring in Australia and New Guinea. Four species in the NT, with 3 in the DR. [Airy 
Shaw, 1976] Several species have reported medicinal uses (Levitt, 1981; Smith & Wightman, 1990). 
1. Multi-stemmed 'subshribs<limitall tiissriticutiessctesectsticcsrstsissecsrissstecstectieetisniyrisirertertar’? 
1. Smallitreess lint tall Srrnmerereritrictsn rltetrceerrtcssse tientectetertesttertstssttaclomrr rite rtT rel trrrtts 2 
P. quadriloculare 
P. banksii 
P. pubescens 
2. Leaves glabrous or glabrescent below, often oblanceolate ............ccccsseeseseseesssseneseseeeseees 
2% Leaves sericeous below, ovate, narrowly ovate or elliptic 
