2806

12(3): Medicinal and poisonous plants 3

Octamyrtus behrmannii Diels

Engl., Bot. Jahrb. 57: 376 (1922).

MYRTACEAE

2n = unknown

Papua New Guinea: kokorabegisi (Kurereda, Northern Province).

Octamyrtus behrmannii occurs throughout New Guinea.

Young shoots are mixed with water and the solution is drunk to treat tuberculosis.

A shrub or small tree up to 10 m tall; bark flaky, greyish-brown. Leaves opposite, simple and entire, obovate to broadly elliptical, 13.5—23 cm x 5.5—11 cm, obtuse to attenuate at base, acute or acuminate at apex, leathery, tomentose on veins below, pinnately veined; petiole 0.5—2 cm long; stipules absent. Flowers cauliflorous, in clusters or solitary, bisexual, with persistent bracteoles; pedicel 0.5—1.5 cm long; calyx with 4 unequal lobes 4—8 mm long, persistent; petals 6 or 8, free, unequal, ovate to elliptical, up to 3.5 cm long, silky outside, red; stamens numerous, free, up to 5.5 cm long; ovary inferior, 4(—7)-celled, style columnar, up to 6 cm long, stigma capitate. Fruit a globose, dry berry 10—12 mm in diameter, bluish-green, brownish tomentose, many-seeded. Seeds compressed-reniform, 2—2.5 mm in diameter.
Octamyrtus comprises 3 species and is confined to the Moluccas and New Guinea. It is closely related to Rhodomyrtus, which differs in the 4—5 less showy petals.

Octamyrtus behrmannii occurs in rain forest up to 1900 m altitude.

The status of Octamyrtus behrmannii concerning genetic erosion is unclear, but there are no indications that it is threatened.

It is unlikely that the use of Octamyrtus behrmannii in traditional medicine will increase in the near future.

[347]Holdsworth, D.K., 1977. Medicinal plants of Papua New Guinea. Technical Paper No 175. South Pacific Commission, Noumea, New Caledonia. 123 pp.

[826]Scott, A.J., 1978. A revision of Octamyrtus (Myrtaceae). Kew Bulletin 33(2): 303—309.

R.H.M.J. Lemmens

Lemmens, R.H.M.J., 2003. Octamyrtus behrmannii Diels. In: Lemmens, R.H.M.J. and Bunyapraphatsara, N. (Editors): Plant Resources of South-East Asia No 12(3): Medicinal and poisonous plants 3. PROSEA Foundation, Bogor, Indonesia. Database record: prota4u.org/prosea