Schefflera arboricola 'Variegata'
Barcelona, Spain.
Day three. Continuing our wandering up to the Montjuic area, in La Poble Espanyol.
Schefflera is a genus in the flowering plant family Araliaceae. The plants are trees, shrubs or lianas, growing 1-30 m tall, with woody stems and palmately-compound leaves.
The circumscription of the genus has varied greatly. Phylogenetic studies have shown that the widely-used broad circumscription as a pantropical genus of over 700 species is polyphyletic, but it remains to be seen how this will affect the classification of the genus.
Several species are grown in pots as houseplants, most commonly Schefflera actinophylla (Umbrella Tree) and Schefflera arboricola (Dwarf Umbrella Tree). Numerous cultivars have been selected for various characters, most popularly for variegated or purple foliage.
Schefflera species are used as food plants by the larvae of some Lepidopteran species including Batrachedra arenosella (recorded on S. stellata). Schefflera arboricola and Schefflera actinophylla can be used to attract birds.
The genus is named in honor of Jacob Christian Scheffler, a 18th-century German botanist who wrote about Asarum.
Schefflera arboricola (syn. Heptapleurum arboricolum) is a flowering plant in the family Araliaceae, native to Taiwan. It also goes by the common name "Dwarf Umbrella Tree."
It is an evergreen shrub growing to 3-6 m tall, free-standing, or clinging to the trunks of other trees. 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.
It is commonly grown as a houseplant, popular for its tolerance of neglect and poor growing conditions. It is also grown as a landscape plant in milder climates where frosts are not severe. 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.
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.
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.
Schefflera arboricola 'Variegata'
Barcelona, Spain.
Day three. Continuing our wandering up to the Montjuic area, in La Poble Espanyol.
Schefflera is a genus in the flowering plant family Araliaceae. The plants are trees, shrubs or lianas, growing 1-30 m tall, with woody stems and palmately-compound leaves.
The circumscription of the genus has varied greatly. Phylogenetic studies have shown that the widely-used broad circumscription as a pantropical genus of over 700 species is polyphyletic, but it remains to be seen how this will affect the classification of the genus.
Several species are grown in pots as houseplants, most commonly Schefflera actinophylla (Umbrella Tree) and Schefflera arboricola (Dwarf Umbrella Tree). Numerous cultivars have been selected for various characters, most popularly for variegated or purple foliage.
Schefflera species are used as food plants by the larvae of some Lepidopteran species including Batrachedra arenosella (recorded on S. stellata). Schefflera arboricola and Schefflera actinophylla can be used to attract birds.
The genus is named in honor of Jacob Christian Scheffler, a 18th-century German botanist who wrote about Asarum.
Schefflera arboricola (syn. Heptapleurum arboricolum) is a flowering plant in the family Araliaceae, native to Taiwan. It also goes by the common name "Dwarf Umbrella Tree."
It is an evergreen shrub growing to 3-6 m tall, free-standing, or clinging to the trunks of other trees. 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.
It is commonly grown as a houseplant, popular for its tolerance of neglect and poor growing conditions. It is also grown as a landscape plant in milder climates where frosts are not severe. 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.
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.
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.