A mangrove hybrid Sonneratia xurama (Sonneratiaceae) from northern Australia and southern New Guinea

Abstract

The putative hybrid tree taxon, Sonneratia alba x S. lanceolata, previously reported for two incomplete herbarium specimens from northern Australia and south-east West Irian, has since been observed and collected in mangrove forests of southern Papua New Guinea. It is morphologically uniform and is described as S. xurama. Notes on its floral phenology, distribution and ecology are given, including a key to all major Sonneratia taxa in this region.