Schefflera arboricola

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Schefflera arboricola

Schefflera arboricola in cultivation

Kingdom:	Plantae
Division:	Magnoliophyta
Class:	Magnoliopsida
Order:	Apiales
Family:	Araliaceae
Subfamily:	Aralioideae
Genus:	Schefflera
Species:	S. arboricola

Binomial name

Schefflera arboricola
(Hayata) Kanehira

Schefflera arboricola (syn. Heptapleurum arboricolum) is a flowering plant in the family Araliaceae, native to Taiwan and Hainan. It also goes by the common name "Dwarf Umbrella Tree" It is an evergreen shrub growing to 3-4 m tall, with weak, often trailing stems scrambling over other vegetation. The leaves are palmately compound, with 7-9 leaflets, the leaflets 9-20 cm long and 4-10 cm broad (though often smaller in cultivation). The flowers are produced in a 20 cm panicle of small umbels, each umbel 7-10 mm diameter with 5-10 flowers.

1 Cultivation and uses
2 Care
3 Aerial roots
4 Photo gallery
5 References
6 External links

[edit] Cultivation and uses

It is commonly grown as a houseplant, popular for its tolerance of neglect and poor growing conditions. Numerous cultivars have been selected for variations in leaf colour and pattern, often variegated with creamy-white to yellow edges or centres, and dwarf forms.

The umbrella plant lends itself easily to the bonsai form and is popular as an indoor bonsai.

[edit] Care

The plant prefers higher light if possible, but can adapt to a wide variety of light levels. As a tropical plant it likes moisture, but avoid letting the plant sit in water after you water it. It likes to be moist but not wet.

[edit] Aerial roots

Under the right conditions, this plant will produce aerial roots that, when they reach the ground, will convert to fully functional roots. They give the plant an unusual and interesting appearance. Three conditions must be maintained for the plant to produce them: a high growth rate, insufficient trunk roots (the plant is root bound or these roots are pruned) and constant, very high humidity.