Schefflera

Plant Characteristics

Cultivation

Scientific Names
Araliaceae >	Schefflera >

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Schefflera (pronounced /ˈʃɛflərə/)^[1] is a genus in the flowering plant family Araliaceae. The plants are trees, shrubs or lianas, growing 1-30 m tall, with woody stems and palmately-compound leaves. The circumscription of the genus has varied greatly. Phylogenetic studies have shown that the widely-used broad circumscription as a pantropical genus of over 700 species is polyphyletic, but it remains to be seen how this will affect the classification of the genus.

Several species are grown in pots as houseplants, most commonly Schefflera actinophylla (Umbrella Tree) and Schefflera arboricola (Dwarf Umbrella Tree). Numerous cultivars have been selected for various characters, most popularly for variegated or purple foliage.

Read about Schefflera in the Standard Cyclopedia of Horticulture
Schefflera (named after G. C. Scheffler). Including Heptapleurum, Paratropia, and Sciadophyllum. Araliaceae. Glabrous or pubescent trees or shrubs or sometimes climbing by means of switch-like branches, grown in the greenhouse or hardy in the far South. Leaves various, mostly digitately compound, rarely simple and then usually mixed with compound lvs., very seldom double digitately compound: fls. in umbels, heads, or racemes, these mostly arranged racemosely, seldom in whorls; calyx-limb weakly developed, obscurely and shortly toothed or almost lacking; petals 5 or more (-15), mostly 5-6; stamens as many as the petals: fr. globose to ovate or elongated, sulcate or angled.—About 150 species in the tropical regions of the world. Paratropia Stelzneriana, Barb.-Rodr., belongs to this genus. See under Paratropia. S. acuminata, Harms (Actinophyllum acuminatum, Pav. Sciadophyllum acuminatum, Poir.), has climbing sts. 10 ft. high, 7 - 11 oblong, obliquely acuminate, coriaceous lfts. and yellow fls. in small heads. May. Peru.—S. conica, Harms (Actinophyllum conicum, Pav. Sciadophyllum conicum, Poir.), has shrubby sts. 10 ft. high, 7-13 oblong, abruptly acuminate, coriaceous lfts., and small heads of whitish red fls. May. Peru.—S. polybotrya, Viguier (Paratropia polybotrya, Miq. Heptapleurum polybotryum, Seem.), is a sparingly branched shrub, 5-7 oblong-ovate to obovate-oblong, caudate-acuminate lfts. and long racemes of small green fls. Winter. Java. B.M. 6238.—S. Sciadophyllum, Harms (Aralia Sciadophyllum, Sw. Sciadophyllum Brownii, Spreng.), has tree-like sts. 10-15 ft. high, 7-11 nearly umbellate oblong-lanceolate, glabrous unequal lfts. and white fls. in heads which are in long compound racemes. Peru.—S. venulosa, Harms (Paratropia venulosa, Wight & Arn. Heptapleurum venulosum, Seem.), is a small glabrous tree or climbing shrub with glabrous entire acuminate lfts. and small compound panicles of greenish fls. India. Var. erythrostachya, Hort., differs in having very large lvs., broad lfts. and very tiny deep red fls., borne in a branched terminal panicle. Trop. Asia. B.M. 7402.—S. vitiensis. Seem. (Aralia vitiensis, Gray. Agalma vitiensis, Seem.), has digitate lvs., obovate-oblong, obtuse entire lfts., with horizontally spreading veins and 3-7 fls. in an umbel. Fiji Isls.^CH The above text is from the Standard Cyclopedia of Horticulture. It may be out of date, but still contains valuable and interesting information which can be incorporated into the remainder of the article. Click on "Collapse" in the header to hide this text.

synonyms^wp (these should all be redirects to this page): Actinomorphe, Actinophyllum, Agalma, Astropanax, Bakeria, Brassaia, Cephaloschefflera, Crepinella, Didymopanax, Dizygotheca, Geopanax, Heptapleurum, Neocussonia, Nesopanax, Octotheca, Parapanax, Paratropia, Plerandra, Scheffleropsis, Sciadophyllum, Tupidanthus

Read about Schefflera in the Standard Cyclopedia of Horticulture
syn. Tupidanthus (Greek, mallet and flower, referring to the shape of the fl.-buds). Araliaceae. At first a glabrous small tree, becoming with age a tall climber: lvs. large, digitately compound; lfts. coriaceous, entire; stipules connate: umbellules arranged in a short panicle or compound umbel: fls. large for the order; petals connate in a leathery or fleshy hood; stamens numerous; disk convex: fr. leathery to fleshy, subglobose. One species, India. T. calyptratus, Hook. f. & Thoms. Lvs. digitate; lfts. 7-9, entire, 7 x 2 1/2 in., narrow-oblong, short-acuminate, narrowed at base; petiolules 2 in. long: main umbel about 3-rayed, branches 3 in. long with large bracts at their bases; umbellules 5-7-cleft: fls. green; stamens 50-70. India. B.M. 4908. ^CH The above text is from the Standard Cyclopedia of Horticulture. It may be out of date, but still contains valuable and interesting information which can be incorporated into the remainder of the article. Click on "Collapse" in the header to hide this text.