Terminalia okari C.T. White

Tree 20-30 m tall, with large, spreading crown and grey bark; twigs often massive, hairy when young, with leaves clustered towards the tips. Leaves obovate or narrow obovate, 15-28 cm x 6-13 cm, thick, usually acute at apex, tapering at base; petioles up to 2 cm long; leaf undersurface and petioles with persistent reddish-brown hairs, nervation prominent beneath and depressed above. Flowers in erect spikes; buds globular, 8-10 mm long; calyx lobes triangular, up to 2 mm, densely hairy; style up to 20 mm long. Fruit a large, ellipsoid, slightly flattened drupe, up to 9-11 cm x 6-8 cm x 5-6 cm, coated with short reddish-brown hairs when young, red, fleshy, and glabrous when ripe, containing a massive woody stone; stone splitting on germination into two almost equal halves containing edible seed (okari nut) within. Cotyledons 3-4, thin, wrapped around each other.

Okari occurs scattered in lowland rainforest and riverine forest, up to 1000 m altitude, sometimes common, but usually encountered as planted or maintained trees in forests and semi-cultivated areas.

Wild populations of T. kaernbachii are known from many areas in Irian Jaya, the Aru Islands, Papua New Guinea and from the Solomon Islands, where it is also widely cultivated.

Okari is easily raised from seed, but the seeds rapidly lose their viability.

Food: The palatable kernels are the largest known in the Combretaceae. It is common in markets during the fruiting season. The palatable kernels are more important, and trees are generally not harvested for timber because of their value as fruit trees. Timber: The tree is used for timber in furniture construction, but is seldom logged as it is excluded from timber purchases because of the value of its fruit. The wood is used in Papua New Guinea as red-brown terminalia, e.g. for furniture.