• Source: Myristica inutilis

Myristica inutilis is a species of flowering plant in the nutmeg family, Myristicaceae. It is a tree native to the South Pacific, ranging from New Guinea through the Bismarck Archipelago and Solomon Islands (including Bougainville) to Vanuatu, Wallis and Futuna, and the Samoan Islands. It is not native to Fiji, but may be present in Tonga.




Description and habitat


Myristica inutilis is an evergreen tree which can grow from 10 to 25 metres tall and occasionally up to 40 metres. It grows in lowland rain forest, hill forest, and littoral (beach) forest, including seasonally inundated areas, where it is typically a canopy tree. It grows mostly between sea level and 350 metres elevation, and occasionally up to 800 metres.




Conservation and threats


The IUCN considers the species to have a wide distribution, stable population, and common within its range, and not currently not facing major threats, so it is assessed as least concern.




Uses


Wood from Myristica inutilis is used for timber, and the red sap (kino) is used as a brown dye. Young shoots harvested from the wild are cooked and eaten like spinach. In some places the sap is used to stop nosebleeds.




Subdivisions


Seven infraspecific taxa are accepted:

Myristica inutilis var. foremaniana W.J.de Wilde – eastern New Guinea
Myristica inutilis subsp. inutilis (syn. Palala inutilis Kuntze) – Solomon Islands, Vanuatu, Wallis and Futuna, and Samoan Islands
Myristica inutilis f. mesophylla W.J.de Wilde – Solomon Islands and Vanuatu
Myristica inutilis f. nanophylla W.J.de Wilde – Solomon Islands
Myristica inutilis subsp. papuana (Markgr.) W.J.de Wilde (syns. Myristica fatua var. papuana Markgr., Myristica inutilis var. papuana (Markgr.) W.J.de Wilde, Myristica finschii Warb., Myristica sericea Warb., and Myristica wallaceana Warb.) – Bismarck Archipelago and New Guinea
Myristica inutilis subsp. platyphylla (A.C.Sm.) W.J.de Wilde – Solomon Islands
Myristica inutilis f. procera (A.C.Sm.) W.J.de Wilde – Solomon Islands




References

Kata Kunci Pencarian:

• Myristica
• Myristica inutilis
• List of Myristica species
• Fiji tropical moist forests
• List of least concern plants
• Tanna ground dove