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Melicope balloui

(Rock) T.G.Hartley & B.C.Stone (1989)

This name is accepted

Kingdom: Viridiplantae Phylum: Magnoliophyta Class/Clade: Eudicot-Rosids Order: Sapindales Family: Rutaceae Genus: Melicope

alani, alani kuahiwi

Description

Key Characters:

Growth Form: Small trees or shrubs, 4–7 m tall; new growth yellowish brown tomentose and with a waxy scurf, becoming glabrate.

Stems:

Roots:

Leaves: Leaves simple. Opposite. Blades obovate to elliptic, 5–10 cm long, 3–7 cm wide. Apex emarginate. Base broadly cuneate or rounded. Surfaces puberulent, becoming glabrate except along midrib on lower surface; blades coriaceous. Margins entire. Primary lateral veins ca. 9–14 pairs, connected by a vein 2–3 mm from margin, venation pinnate, lateral veins connected by an arched submarginal vein, higher order venation forming a reticulate pattern. Petioles 10–26 mm long. Stipules absent.

Flowers: Flowers 5–9 in yellowish green appressed puberulent, axillary cymes, peduncles 3–16 mm long, pedicels ca. 5 mm long, bracts small, opposite. Flowers functionally unisexual (and the plants monoecious). Calyx of 4 sepals; sepals imbricate, ovate, ca. 3 mm long, densely appressed puberulent, apex acute, petals ca. 4 mm long, densely appressed puberulent, apex acute, both sepals and petals usually persistent in fruit. Corolla of 4 petals, valvate. Staminate flowers unknown. Ovary superior, densely puberulent, ovary 4-celled and 4-lobed, carpels connate, only slightly distinct at apex to almost entirely distinct; ovules 2 per cell, hemitropous, 1 ascending; style 1, terminating in 4 short stigmatic branches.

Fruit: Capsules 25–27 mm wide; carpels connate ca. ¼ their length; 12–13 mm long; exocarp puberulent; endocarp uniformly sparsely puberulent. Seeds 1–2 per carpel; ca. 7 mm long; glossy black when ripe; crustaceous; ovoid; sometimes angled from compression; embryo straight in fleshy endosperm; radicle short; cotyledons compressed; ovate; putamen brown; warty.

Ploidy:

Habitat: Known only from wet forest.

Elevation Range: ca. 1,280–1,520 m.

Historical Distribution

Uses and Culture

USES

Natural History

Statewide Status

Endemic

Island Status

Maui Endemic

Dispersal Agents


Pollinators

Bibliography

Name Published In: Taxon 38: 121 (1989)

Other References

Wagner et al. 1990:1183 (EM [as Pelea balloui]); Hartley & Stone 1989:121 (COMBNOV, Syn. P. balloui = M. balloui)

Occurrences

SNo. Scientific Name Locality Habitat Basis of Record Description Recorded By Record Number Island Source Date
1 Melicope balloui Locality redacted. Contact Bishop Museum Botany Department for details Preserved_Specimen Degener, O. 8563 Maui BISH 1927-06-27
2 Melicope balloui Locality redacted. Contact Bishop Museum Botany Department for details Preserved_Specimen Degener, O. 2362 Maui BISH 1927-06-26
3 Melicope balloui Locality redacted. Contact Bishop Museum Botany Department for details Preserved_Specimen Mann, H. 376 Maui BISH 1864-01-01
4 Melicope balloui Locality redacted. Contact Bishop Museum Botany Department for details Preserved_Specimen Rock, J.F.C. 8609 Maui BISH 1910-10-25
5 Melicope balloui Locality redacted. Contact Bishop Museum Botany Department for details Preserved_Specimen Forbes, C.N. 1154 Maui BISH 1919-08-15
6 Melicope balloui Locality redacted. Contact Bishop Museum Botany Department for details Preserved_Specimen Rock, J.F.C. 8609 Maui BISH 1910-10-25
7 Melicope balloui Locality redacted. Contact Bishop Museum Botany Department for details Preserved_Specimen Lydgate, J.M. Maui BISH
8 Melicope balloui Locality redacted. Contact Bishop Museum Botany Department for details Preserved_Specimen Forbes, C.N. 981 Maui BISH 1919-07-30
9 Melicope balloui Locality redacted. Contact Bishop Museum Botany Department for details Acacia koa, Metrosideros, Dicranopteris linearis, Cheirodendron, Styphelia, Cibotium glaucum, Rubus hawaiensis, Phyllostegia ambigua, Alyxia, Peperomia, Myrsine lessertiana, Platydesma spathulata, Psychotria, Labordia hirtella, Cyrtandra spathulata, Cyrtandra hashimotoi, Rubus argutus Preserved_Specimen 7 m ; many branched, trunk dark brown Wood, K.R. 6712 Maui BISH 1997-09-18
10 Melicope balloui Locality redacted. Contact Bishop Museum Botany Department for details Preserved_Specimen Forbes, C.N. Maui BISH
11 Melicope balloui Locality redacted. Contact Bishop Museum Botany Department for details at base of pali. Wet Forest: Metrosideros, Cheirodendron, Coprosma, Dicranopteris, Perrottetia sandwicensis, Hydrangea, Pipturus, Polyscias oahuensis, Hedychium gardnerianum, Pritchardia woodii, Dubautia plantaginea, Miconia crenata, Chaetogastra longifolia, Machaerina angustifolia, Cyrtandra kipahuluensis, Ageratina adenophora Preserved_Specimen Uncommon, single tree, 3 m tall Pezzillo, Z. 469 Maui BISH 2023-05-03
12 Melicope balloui Locality redacted. Contact Bishop Museum Botany Department for details In wet forest. Vegetation: Acacia, Metrosideros, Cheirodendron, Perrottetia, Broussaisia, Melicope, Clermontia, Pipturus, Myrsine, Coprosma, Kadua, Scaevola, Sadleria, Psychotria, Cibotium, Athyrium, Diplazium, Dryopteris, Deschampsia, Carex, Rubus, Nothoperanema, Dubautia, Peperomia, Vandenboschia, Christella, Bidens, Adenophorus, Machaerina, Clidemia, Hedychium. Preserved_Specimen Scattered trees to 7m tall; leaves mildly anise-scented when crushed. Differs from the description in the sepals are not persistent on the capsules. Oppenheimer, H.L. 50919 Maui BISH 2009-05-12
13 Melicope balloui Locality redacted. Contact Bishop Museum Botany Department for details Wet areas; eg. growing off streambank with Clermontia aborescens; Broussaisia; fern cover. Uncommon tree in Metrosideros/Acacia koa forest. Preserved_Specimen Medeiros, A.C. 449 Maui BISH 1983-07-09
14 Melicope balloui Locality redacted. Contact Bishop Museum Botany Department for details In rain forest. Preserved_Specimen Degener, O. 2368 Maui BISH 1927-06-19
15 Melicope balloui Locality redacted. Contact Bishop Museum Botany Department for details Wet forest: Metrosideros, Cheirodendron, Coprosma, Dicranopteris, Perrottetia sandwicensis, Hydrangea, Cyanea maritae, Phyllostegia brevidens, Pipturus, Polyscias oahuensis, Hedychium gardnerianum, Dubautia plantaginea, Miconia crenata, Chaetogastra herbacea, Machaerina angustifolia, Cyrtandra kipahuluensis, Ageratina adnenophora Preserved_Specimen Single tree near bottom of N wall of valley, 5m tall, pretiful, [plentiful?] fruit, glabrous branches. Pezzillo, Z. 1130 Maui BISH 2025-04-09
16 Melicope balloui Locality redacted. Contact Bishop Museum Botany Department for details Vegetation: Acacia, Metrosideros, Chierodendron, Melicope, Perrottetia, Coprosma, Kadua, Broussaisia, Myrsine, Cibotium, Sadleria, Diplazium, Scaevola, Clidemia, Hedychium, Clermontia, Pipturus, Elaphoglossum, Athyrium, Diplazium, Deschampsia, Peperomia. Preserved_Specimen Tree, occasional to locally common; leaves with a resinous/anise scent when crushed, but not nearly as strongly anise-scented as M. ovalis. Oppenheimer, H.L. 81707 Maui BISH 2017-08-02
17 Melicope balloui Locality redacted. Contact Bishop Museum Botany Department for details Acacia-Metrosideros-Cheirodendron montane wet forest with sections ofDicranopteris fernland. With Rubus hawailensis, Perrottetia, Broussaisia, Pipturus, Cyrtandra spathulata, kadua affinis, Macaerina augustifolia, Psychotria, Diplazium sandwichianum, Clermontia arborenscens, Freycinetia, Melico Preserved_Specimen Tree, 6 meters tall, vigorous, stems brown, with fruit, cf M. balloui or M. volcania. Wood, K.R. 13735 Maui BISH 2009-05-12
18 Melicope balloui Locality redacted. Contact Bishop Museum Botany Department for details Wet forest on very young substrate with area of aa underneath vegetation, tree growing on old slide that came down from slope above. Wet Forest: Metrosideros, Cheirodendron, Polyscias, Pritchardia woodii, Acacia, Pipturus, Clermontia, Kadua, Psychotria, Perrottetia, Geniostoma, Melicope, Scaevola, Hydrangea, Coprosma, Cibotium, Vaccinium, Diplazium, Dicranopteris, Miconia crenata, Hedychium, Chaetogastra, Peperomia, Sadleria, Amauropelta, Phyllostegia brevidens, Cyanea maritae, Aednophorus, Cyrtandra, Palhinhaea, Selaginella, Kadua, Dubautia, Wikstroemia, Dryopteris, Isachne Preserved_Specimen tree Pezzillo, Z. 822 Maui BISH 2024-03-13
19 Melicope balloui Locality redacted. Contact Bishop Museum Botany Department for details In wet forest. Vegetation: Acacia, Metrosideros, Cheirodendron, Perrottetia, Broussaisia, Melicope, Clermontia, Pipturus, Myrsine, Coprosma, Kadua, Scaevola, Sadleria, Psychotria, Cibotium, Athyrium, Diplazium, Dryopteris, Deschampsia, Carex, Rubus, Nothoperanema, Dubautia, Peperomia, Vandenboschia, Christella, Bidens, Adenophorus, Machaerina, Clidemia, Hedychium. Preserved_Specimen Scattered trees to 7m tall; leaves mildly anise-scented when crushed. Differs from the description in the sepals are not persistent on the capsules. Oppenheimer, H.L. 50919 Maui BISH 2009-05-12
20 Melicope balloui Locality redacted. Contact Bishop Museum Botany Department for details in Acacia koa/metrosideros polymorpha rain forest. Fruit green. Preserved_Specimen Small tree Cuddihy, L.W. 2053 Maui BISH 1987-04-30
21 Melicope balloui Locality redacted. Contact Bishop Museum Botany Department for details Preserved_Specimen Forbes, C.N. 751 Maui BISH 1919-07-01
22 Melicope balloui Locality redacted. Contact Bishop Museum Botany Department for details Preserved_Specimen Forbes, C.N. 749 Maui BISH 1919-07-01
23 Melicope balloui Locality redacted. Contact Bishop Museum Botany Department for details Preserved_Specimen Rock, J.F.C. 8609 Maui BISH 1910-10-25
24 Melicope balloui Locality redacted. Contact Bishop Museum Botany Department for details Preserved_Specimen Forbes, C.N. 955 Maui BISH 1919-07-27
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