Fatshedera

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Fatshedera (× Fatshedera lizei) is a hybrid genus of flowering plant also known as tree ivy or aralia ivy. It was created by hybridising Fatsia japonica 'Moserii' (Moser's Japanese Fatsia; the seed parent) and Hedera hibernica (Irish Ivy; the pollen parent) at the Lizé Frères (Lizé Brothers) nursery at Nantes in France in 1910.

The plant combines the shrubby shape of Fatsia with the five-lobed leaves of Hedera. As a shrub, Fatshedera can grow up to 1.2 m tall, above which the weight of the fairly weak branches makes them tend to bend over. It can however also be tied to a support and grow into a vine up to 3-4 m tall; unlike Hedera, it does not readily climb without assistance. The leaf blades are 7-25 cm long and broad, with a 5-20 cm petiole. The flowers are 4-6 mm diameter, yellowish-white, produced in late autumn or early winter in dense umbels; they are sterile and do not produce any fruit.

It is grown both as a garden plant outdoors, and as a houseplant indoors, where its tolerance of shady conditions is valued. Inside they will grow well in bright indirect light. Outdoors, it can tolerate winter temperatures down to −15 °C, but can also be grown successfully indoors with temperatures never falling below 20 °C. Several cultivars have been selected, with dark green to variously white- or yellow-variegated leaves.