fatsia - KPU Plant DB

Scientific Name:

Fatsia japonica

Pronunciation:

FAT-see-uh juh-PON-ih-kuh

Common Name:

fatsia

Family Name:

Araliaceae

Plant Type:

Broadleaf evergreen, Indoor foliage plant

Key ID Features:

Large evergreen shrub 3-5m tall; leaves alternate, orbicular, 20-40cm wide, leathery, lustrous dark green, and palmately veined, 7-11 lobes with very deep sinuses, serrate, base cordate, petioles 10-30cm long; umbels 3-6cm wide, arranged in a panicle-like inflorescence, Nov-Dec.; berries 5-7mm wide, maturing purplish-black in spring (may not form after a cold winter).

Habit:

Spreading, Stiffly upright

Form:

Round, Vase

Texture:

Very coarse

Mature Height:

3 - 5m

Mature Spread:

3 - 4m

Growth Rate:

Moderate

Origin:

S.E. Asia / Japan / China

Hardiness Rating:

Zone 8a: (-12 to -9.5 °C)

Exposure:

Part sun/part shade, Filtered shade, Deep shade

Soil/Growing Medium:

Well-drained

Water Use:

Moderate

Landscape Uses:

Accent plant, Indoor plant, Mixed shrub border, Specimen plant, Winter interest

Additional Info:

Google

Leaf Morphology:

Glossary

Form:

Simple, Lobed

Arrangement:

Alternate, Spiraled

Texture/Venation:

Leathery, Heavily veined, Palmate venation

Surfaces:

Glabrous, Lustrous

Colour in Summer:

Dark-green

Colour in Fall:

Dark-green

Shapes:

Oblong, Orbicular

Apices:

Acute

Bases:

Cordate, Hastate

Margins:

Cleft (parted), Palmately lobed, Serrulate, Sinuate, Undulate (wavy)

Inflorescence Type:

Umbel, Panicle-like

Flower Morphology:

Dioecious plant

Number Of Petals:

5

Corolla Shape:

Rotate/stellate

Ovary Position:

Inferior

Colour (petals):

Showy, White

Flower Scent:

None

Flower Time at Peak:

Nov, Dec

Additional Info:

Umbels arranged in a raceme; petals reflexed

Fruit Type:

Berry (true)

Fruit Colour:

Black

Fruiting Time:

Apr, May, Jun

Additional Info:

Showy, Botanically a false berry due to the inferior ovary (calyx opposite the pedicel like in pomes and the floral tube forms a thin layer of accessory tissue over the exocarp)