''Octomeles'' is a

monotypic In biology, a monotypic taxon is a taxonomic group (taxon) that contains only one immediately subordinate taxon. A monotypic species is one that does not include subspecies or smaller, infraspecific taxa. In the case of genera, the term "unispec ...

genus of plant in family

Tetramelaceae The Tetramelaceae are a family of plants formerly classed in the Datiscaceae family . It contains two genera, '' Octomeles'' and ''Tetrameles ''Tetrameles'' is a genus of flowering plants in the family Tetramelaceae with one species, ''Tetram ...

. The sole species is ''Octomeles sumatrana'', sometimes written ''O. sumatranum''. ''Octomeles sumatrana'', commonly called Benuang, or Ilimo, is found in

Brunei Brunei ( , ), formally Brunei Darussalam ( ms, Negara Brunei Darussalam, Jawi alphabet, Jawi: , ), is a country located on the north coast of the island of Borneo in Southeast Asia. Apart from its South China Sea coast, it is completely sur ...

Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It consists of over 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, and parts of Borneo and New Guine ...

Malaysia Malaysia ( ; ) is a country in Southeast Asia. The federation, federal constitutional monarchy consists of States and federal territories of Malaysia, thirteen states and three federal territories, separated by the South China Sea into two r ...

Papua New Guinea Papua New Guinea (abbreviated PNG; , ; tpi, Papua Niugini; ho, Papua Niu Gini), officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea ( tpi, Independen Stet bilong Papua Niugini; ho, Independen Stet bilong Papua Niu Gini), is a country i ...

, the

Philippines The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...

, and the

Solomon Islands Solomon Islands is an island country consisting of six major islands and over 900 smaller islands in Oceania, to the east of Papua New Guinea and north-west of Vanuatu. It has a land area of , and a population of approx. 700,000. Its capita ...

. It and ''

Tetrameles nudiflora ''Tetrameles'' is a genus of flowering plants in the family Tetramelaceae with one species, ''Tetrameles nudiflora''. It grows as a large deciduous tree and is found across southern Asia from India through southeast Asia, Malesia, and into northe ...

'' are the only two species in the family

. They were previously classified in the

Datiscaceae The Datiscaceae are a family of dicotyledonous plants, containing two species of the genus ''Datisca''. Two other genera, ''Octomeles'' and ''Tetrameles'', are now classified in the family Tetramelaceae. Datiscaceae are large herbaceous plants, ...

but found genetically to not form a natural clade with the other members of that family. The tree is

dioecious Dioecy (; ; adj. dioecious , ) is a characteristic of a species, meaning that it has distinct individual organisms (unisexual) that produce male or female gametes, either directly (in animals) or indirectly (in seed plants). Dioecious reproductio ...

and large: reaching up to 75 m (250 feet) in height and up to thirteen feet (four meters) in diameter above the buttresses. A

pioneer species Pioneer species are hardy species that are the first to colonize barren environments or previously biodiverse steady-state ecosystems that have been disrupted, such as by wildfire. Pioneer flora Some lichens grow on rocks without soil, so m ...

, it regenerates quickly in disturbed habitats such as logged forest and previously cultivated land. It has been known to grow as much as 82 feet (25 meters) in height and up to 18.5 inches (0.47 meters) diameter at breast height (DBH) in just four years, equivalent to annual rings 2.3 inches (six centimeters) wide. Also, like other pioneer species, it is relatively short lived; even the emergent titans rarely exceeding 85 years of age. It also has noteworthy buttresses; up to 19.5 feet (six meters) high by up to fortynine feet (15 meters) in length. On Bougainville the buttresses take a different form; higher and narrower, up to 52 feet (16 meters) in height while only 18 feet (5.5 meters) in length.

References

Tetramelaceae Monotypic Cucurbitales genera Flora of Malesia Flora of Borneo Trees of Brunei Trees of New Guinea Trees of Papuasia Trees of Sulawesi Trees of Sumatra Trees of the Philippines Taxonomy articles created by Polbot Dioecious plants {{Cucurbitales-stub