Scientific Name:
Heptapleurum actinophyllum
( syn.
Schefflera actinophylla
)
Pronunciation:
Hep-ta-PLUR-um ak-ten-oh-FILL-um
Common Name:
umbrella plant, Australian umbrella tree
Family Name:
Araliaceae
Plant Type:
Indoor foliage plant
Key ID Features:
Leaves alternate, palmately compound with 7-16 elliptic leaflets, most 10-15cm long x 4-10cm wide on indoor plants, petiolules 4-6cm long.
Habit:
Upright
Form:
Vase
Texture:
Coarse
Mature Height:
2 - 3m
Mature Spread:
1.5 - 2.0m
Growth Rate:
Moderate
Origin:
Australia / New Zealand (New Guinea)
Hardiness Rating:
Zone 10: (-1 to 4 °C)
Exposure:
Part sun/part shade
Soil/Growing Medium:
Well-drained
Water Use:
Moderate
Landscape Uses:
Indoor plant
Additional Info:
Google (plants will grow much larger in the wild). Cultivars shown may include H. 'Amate' and H. 'Renegade'.
Leaf Morphology:
Form:
Compound
Arrangement:
Alternate
Texture/Venation:
Leathery
Surfaces:
Glabrous
Compound Leaf:
Digitate (palmate), Leaflets stalked
Colour in Fall:
Green
Shapes:
Elliptic, Oblanceolate, Oblong, Obovate
Apices:
Acute
Margins:
Entire
Additional Info:
Same form, but larger than S. arboricola. Leaflets have pinnate venation.
Inflorescence Type:
Panicle
Flower Morphology:
Flowers perfect
Number Of Petals:
5
Corolla Shape:
Rotate/stellate
Ovary Position:
Inferior
Colour (petals):
Green, Pink, Red (unlikely to flower indoors)
Flower Time at Peak:
Additional Info:
Unlikely to form on indoor plants
Fruit Type:
Aggregate fruit, Drupe, Aborted (hybrids) or absent
Fruit Colour:
Dark-red
Fruiting Time:
Additional Info:
Fruit insignificant, Unlikely to form on indoor plants
Bark Morphology:
Lightly fissured
Bark or Stem Colour:
Brown
Organ Modifications:
Stipule, leafy, stipules merge with the petiole
Propagation:
Seed, Softwood cuttings
Optimal Temp.:
Medium
Light Level:
Medium
Maintenance:
Low
Pest Susceptibility:
Aphids or adelgids, Bacterial leaf spot, Mealybugs, Mites, Scale insects, Thrips (Pest resistant, Disease resistant)
