Biology:Polyscias
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
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
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
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
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
- 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
The following species are endangered (EN) or critically endangered (CR). List may be incomplete.[6] * 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
- ↑ "Polyscias J.R.Forst. & G.Forst.". Plants of the World Online, facilitated by the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. 2026. https://powo.science.kew.org/taxon/urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:3081-1.
- ↑ Kubitzki, Klaus; Kadereit, Joachim W.; Bittrich, Volker, eds (1998). "Araliaceae". Flowering Plants, Eudicots : Apiales, Gentianales (except Rubiaceae). The Families and Genera of Vascular Plants. 15. Berlin: Springer. pp. 435–436. doi:10.1007/978-3-319-93605-5. ISBN 978-3-319-93604-8.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 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. https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/3590565.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 "Polyscias". North Carolina State University. https://plants.ces.ncsu.edu/plants/polyscias/.
- ↑ Mugo, C. R.. "Polyscias spp.". earthsendangered.com. https://www.earthsendangered.com/profile.asp?gr=P&view=&ID=&sp=8324.
External links
Data related to Polyscias at Wikispecies
Wikidata ☰ Q2381113 entry
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