Polyscias
| Polyscias | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Polyscias guilfoylei & Polyscias fruticosa | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Embryophytes |
| Clade: | Tracheophytes |
| Clade: | Spermatophytes |
| Clade: | Angiosperms |
| Clade: | Eudicots |
| Clade: | Asterids |
| Order: | Apiales |
| Family: | Araliaceae |
| Subfamily: | Aralioideae |
| Genus: | Polyscias J.R.Forst. & G.Forst.[1] |
| Species | |
|
See text | |
| Synonyms[1] | |
|
28 synonyms
| |
Polyscias is a genus of flowering plants in the family Araliaceae with a natural distribution from tropical Africa through Southeast Asia and Australia to islands of the Pacific. As of February 2026[update], Plants of the World Online recognises 28 synonyms and about 180 species for the genus.[1]
Description
[edit]They are shrubs, trees or (rarely) lianes, which are mostly evergreen or occasionally deciduous. The leaves are alternate and have a membraneous or winged sheathing base of the petioles. Stipules are either absent or vestigial. Leaf morphology is varied: they may be undivided or pinnate, bipinnate or tripinnate, and the margins may be entire, toothed or lobed.[2][3]
Flower characters are likewise varied, and inflorescences may be erect or pendant, and take the form of panicles, umbels, racemes, or whorls.
Taxonomy
[edit]The genus was erected in 1776 by Johann Reinhold Forster and his son Georg Forster, to accommodate a plant specimen they had collected in the South Pacific.[3][4]
Etymology
[edit]The name Polyscias is derived from the Greek words πολύς (polys), 'many', and skias, 'shade' or 'umbrella', and is a reference to the foliage of the plants.[5]
Cultivation
[edit]There are about six species of the genus Polyscias that are actively cultivated. The genus contains a variety of tropical plants, which include about 80 species from the Pacific islands and Southeast Asia.[5]
Selected species
[edit]- Polyscias aemiliguineae Bernardi
- Polyscias balfouriana (André) L.H.Bailey
- Polyscias cissodendron (C.Moore & F.Muell.) Harms
- Polyscias elegans (C.Moore & F.Muell.) Harms
- Polyscias flynnii (Lowry & K.R.Wood) Lowry & G.M.Plunkett
- Polyscias fruticosa (L.) Harms
- Polyscias fulva (Hiern) Harms
- Polyscias guilfoylei (W.Bull) L.H.Bailey
- Polyscias kikuyuensis Summerh.
- Polyscias maraisiana Lowry & G.M.Plunkett
- Polyscias murrayi (F.Muell.) Harms
- Polyscias neraudiana (Drake) Harms ex R.Vig.
- Polyscias oahuensis (A.Gray) Lowry & G.M.Plunkett
- Polyscias racemosa (C.N.Forbes) Sherff
- Polyscias rodriguesiana (Marais) Lowry & G.M.Plunkett
- Polyscias sambucifolia (Sieber ex DC.) Harms
- Polyscias sandwicensis (A.Gray) Lowry & G.M.Plunkett
- Polyscias scutellaria (Burm.f.) Fosberg
Endangered and critically endangered species
[edit]The following species are endangered (EN) or critically endangered (CR). List may be incomplete.[6][better source needed]
- Polyscias aemiliguineae: CR – Reunion
- Polyscias bisattenuata: CR – Kaua`i, Hawai`i
- Polyscias dichroostachya: EN – Mauritius
- Polyscias flynnii: EN – Kaua`i, Hawai`i
- Polyscias gracilis: CR – Mauritius
- Polyscias letestui: EN
- Polyscias lydgatei: EN – O`ahu, Hawai`i
- Polyscias mauritiana: EN – Mauritius
- Polyscias neraudiana: CR – Mauritius
- Polyscias paniculata: CR – Mauritius
- Polyscias racemosa: EN – Kaua`i, Hawai`i
- Polyscias taomensis: CR – New Caledonia
References
[edit]- 1 2 3 "Polyscias J.R.Forst. & G.Forst". Plants of the World Online. Plants of the World Online, facilitated by the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. 2026. Retrieved 15 February 2026.
- ↑ Kubitzki, Klaus; Kadereit, Joachim W.; Bittrich, Volker, eds. (1998). "Araliaceae". Flowering Plants, Eudicots : Apiales, Gentianales (except Rubiaceae). The Families and Genera of Vascular Plants. Vol. 15. Berlin: Springer. pp. 435–436. doi:10.1007/978-3-319-93605-5. ISBN 978-3-319-93604-8.
- 1 2 Lowry, P.P.; Plunkett, G.M. (2010). "Recircumscription of Polyscias (Araliaceae) to include six related genera, with a new infrageneric classification and a synopsis of species". Plant Diversity and Evolution. 128 (1–2): 61. doi:10.1127/1869-6155/2010/0128-0003.
- ↑ Forster, J.R. (1776). Characteres generum plantarum, quas in itinere ad insulas maris Australis. London: B. White, T. Cadell, & P. Elmsly. p. 63.
- 1 2 "Polyscias". North Carolina Extension Gardener Plant Toolbox. North Carolina State University. Retrieved 15 February 2026.
- ↑ Mugo, C. R. "Polyscias spp". Earth's Endangered Creatures. earthsendangered.com. Retrieved 13 February 2026.
External links
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