Schefflera

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. 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 It may be out of date, but still contains valuable and interesting information which can be incorporated into the remainder of the article.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.

? Schefflera
Schefflera arboricola
Plant Info
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae Division: Magnoliophyta Class: Magnoliopsida Order: Apiales Family: Araliaceae Subfamily: Aralioideae Genus: Schefflera J.R.Forst. & G.Forst.
Selected species
*Schefflera actinophylla Schefflera arboricola Schefflera delavayi Schefflera digitata Schefflera elegantissima Schefflera longifolia Schefflera morototoni Schefflera octostyla Schefflera pubens Schefflera robusta Schefflera rotundifolia Schefflera sciadophyllum Schefflera sphaerocoma Schefflera stellata Schefflera tomentosa Schefflera umbellifera Schefflera urbaniana Schefflera venulosa For the complete list, see List of Schefflera species.
Synonyms
*Actinomorphe (Miq.) Miq. Actinophyllum Ruiz & Pav. Agalma Miq. Astropanax Seem. Bakeria Seem. Brassaia Endl. Cephaloschefflera (Harms) Merr. Crepinella Marchal Didymopanax Decne. & Planch. Dizygotheca N.E.Br. Geopanax Hemsl. Heptapleurum Gaertn. Neocussonia Hutch. Nesopanax Seem. Octotheca R.Vig. Parapanax Miq. Paratropia (Blume) DC. Plerandra A.Gray Scheffleropsis Ridl. Sciadophyllum P.Browne Tupidanthus Hook.f. & Thomson

A variegated cultivar of Schefflera arboricola

Schefflera 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, also known as the Umbrella Tree. Numerous cultivars have been selected for various characters, most popularly for variegated or purple foliage. Schefflera species are used as food plants by the larvae of some Lepidopteran species including Batrachedra arenosella (recorded on S. stellata).

Schefflera wallichiana

Name

The genus is named in honor of Jacob Christian Scheffler, a German botanist who wrote about Asarum.

References

• Frodin, D. G. and R. Govaerts. 2004. World Checklist and Bibliography of Araliaceae. Kew Publishing.
• Plunkett, G. M., P. P. Lowry, D. G. Frodin and J. Wen. 2005. Phylogeny and geography of Schefflera: pervasive polyphyly in the largest genus of Araliaceae. Annals of the Missouri Botanical Garden 92: 202-224.