Schefflera

Schefflera
Schefflera
Schefflera arboricola
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae
(unranked): Angiosperms
(unranked): Eudicots
(unranked): Asterids
Order: Apiales
Family: Araliaceae
Subfamily: Aralioideae
Genus: Schefflera
J.R.Forst. & G.Forst.
Diversity
c. 600 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

Schefflera (pronounced /ˈʃɛflərə/)[1] is a genus of flowering plants in the family Araliaceae. The plants are trees, shrubs or lianas, growing 1–30 metres (3 ft 3 in–98 ft 5 in) 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.[2][3]

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. Schefflera species are used as food plants by the larvae of some Lepidopteran species including Batrachedra arenosella (recorded on S. stellata). Schefflera arboricola and Schefflera actinophylla can be used to attract birds.[4]

The genus is named in honor of Jacob Christian Scheffler, an 18th-century German botanist who wrote about Asarum.[5]

References

  1. ^ Sunset Western Garden Book, 1995:606–607
  2. ^ G. M. Plunkett, Porter P. Lowry II, D. G. Frodin & Jun Wen (2005). "Phylogeny and geography of Schefflera: pervasive polyphyly in the largest genus of Araliaceae". Annals of the Missouri Botanical Garden 92 (2): 202–224. JSTOR 3298514. 
  3. ^ Pedro Fiaschi & Gregory M. Plunkett (2011). "Monophyly and phylogenetic relationships of Neotropical Schefflera (Araliaceae) based on plastid and nuclear markers". Systematic Botany 36 (3): 806–817. doi:10.1600/036364411X583754. 
  4. ^ Johan Dalgas Frisch, Christian Dalgas Frisch (2005). Aves Brasileiras e Plantas que as atraem. São Paulo: Dalgas Ecotec. ISBN 85-85015-07-1. 
  5. ^ Helmut Genaust (1983). Etymologisches Wörterbuch der botanischen Pflanzennamen (2nd ed.). Birkhäuser Verlag. ISBN 3-7643-1399-4. 

Further reading

  • Frodin, D. G. and R. Govaerts. 2004. World Checklist and Bibliography of Araliaceae. Kew Publishing.

External links


Stub icon This Araliaceae article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.