Polyscias guilfoylei L.H.Bailey

Geranium aralia (en), faux-caféier (fr)

Species

Angiosperms > Apiales > Araliaceae > Polyscias

Characteristics

Glabrous shrub to 3 m high, with few branches, bearing spirally arranged leaves towards their ends. Leaves imparipinnate, with 3-4 pairs of leaflets, c. 60 cm long; petiole c. 18 cm, terete, with a sheathing base 3-4 cm long; petiolules c. 1.5-2.5 cm; leaflets rotund, oblong or rhomboidal, c. 10-14 by 6-7 cm, rather thin and flaccid, sometimes rugose, margin sharply serrate to broadly cuneate (often decurrent on the petiole), often oblique, midrib and lateral veins evident. Inflorescence a diffuse panicle; primary axis short (c. 3-4 cm) with one or few lateral flowering branches, terminating in an umbel of long much-branched rays; lateral branches and rays c. 40-50 cm, with secondary branches (c. 5-8 cm) singly or mainly in subverticils along their length and in a terminal umbel; secondary branches with one or more pairs of small bracts and ending in umbellules with a few lateral tertiary branches also ending in umbellules; umbellules with c. 8-12 flowers on pedicels c. 8-10 mm long. Calyx a minute rim. Petals 5, 2½ mmlong. Stamens 5, anthers oblong, 1.5 mm long; filaments 2 mm. Ovary turbinate, c. 1 mm high, usually 3-celled, styles at first erect, but soon elongating and recurved. Fruit fleshy, globose, c. 4 by 5 mm.
More
Shrubs or treelets, to 5 m tall, andromonoecious. Leaves 1-pinnate (irregularly decompound or 2-or 3-pinnate in some forms); petiole 7-18 cm, clasping at base, alate for 1.5-3 cm with membranous wings; petiolules 1-3.5 cm; leaflets (5-)7-9, often variegated, elliptic, ovate, or obovate, often broadly so, 5-20 × 2.5-12 cm, papery, base broadly cuneate to attenuate, margin spinulose-serrate, teeth (1-)1.5-5 mm, apex obtuse to broadly acute or acuminate. Inflorescence terminal, pendent, a panicle of umbels; primary axis 3-6 cm; secondary axes 5-10, scattered toward base, upper ones forming a terminal umbel, 20-60 cm; tertiary axes 8-12 per secondary axis, grouped in 1-3 ver-ticils, (1.5-)3-12 cm; peduncles 1-2 cm, with a terminal umbel of bisexual flowers and often 1(or 2) lateral umbels of staminate flowers; pedicels 4-10 mm. Ovary 3-or 4(or 5)-carpellate; styles free nearly to base, recurving in fruit. Fruit rarely seen, subglobose, 4-5 mm high.
A shrub. It grows 2-5 m high. The leaflets are oval and have weak teeth along the edge. The leaves are dark green or yellow and have white along the edges. The leaf blades vary in shape.
Life form perennial
Growth form shrub
Growth support free-standing
Foliage retention evergreen
Sexuality andromonoecy
Pollination -
Spread -
Mature width (meter) 0.5 - 1.0
Mature height (meter) 2.0 - 3.0
Root system -
Rooting depth (meter) -
Root diameter (meter) -
Flower color
Blooming months -
Fruit color -
Fruiting months -
Nitrogen fixer -
Photosynthetic pathway -

Environment

Usually grown as a hedge plant. Flowers only when left untrimmed or when growing as an escape from cultivation.
More
Not known in a truly wild situation
It is a tropical plant.
Light 4-8
Soil humidity 3-7
Soil texture 3-4
Soil acidity 3-7
Soil nutriment -
Hardiness (USDA) 10-12

Usage

Uses environmental use food medicinal poison
Edible leaves
Therapeutic use Stomach (unspecified), Wound (unspecified)
Human toxicity -
Animal toxicity -

Cultivation

It can be grown from cuttings. It is often grown as a hedge plant.
Mode cuttings seedlings
Germination duration (days) -
Germination temperacture (C°) -
Germination luminosity -
Germination treatment -
Minimum temperature (C°) 1
Optimum temperature (C°) -
Size -
Vigor -
Productivity -

Images

Leaf

Polyscias guilfoylei leaf picture by Julian Garnier (cc-by-sa)

Distribution

Polyscias guilfoylei world distribution map, present in Bahamas, China, Cook Islands, Dominica, Guinea, Haiti, Moldova (Republic of), Mozambique, Puerto Rico, Thailand, Tonga, Tuvalu, United States of America, Vanuatu, and Wallis and Futuna

Identifiers

LSID urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:91773-1
WFO ID wfo-0000280069
COL ID 4LLSR
BDTFX ID -
INPN ID 446942
Wikipedia (EN) Link
Wikipedia (FR) Link

Synonyms

Aralia maculata Aralia monstrosa Panax victoriae Panax victoriae Polyscias guilfoylei Nothopanax guilfoylei Panax guilfoylei Panax laciniatus Aralia guilfoylei Panax laciniata Aralia monstrosa Nothopanax fruticosus var. victoriae Polyscias guilfoylei var. laciniata Polyscias guilfoylei var. monstrosa Polyscias guilfoylei var. victoriae