Araliaceae
Schefflera Foster et G. Foster.
Kingdom: Plantae Rank: Genus Parent: Araliaceae Status: Valid
Vegetative Morphology
Habit: Trees to 20 m.
Leaves: Leaves palmately compound, leaflets up to 12, clustered at the apices of the branches, sometimes with lobes, the petioles elongated and variable in size.
Exudate: The trunk with a strong-smelling sap.
Reproductive Morphology
Fruit: Stigma persistent on fruit. Fruit a berry, to 2 cm diameter, purple or black when mature, longitudinally flattened. Some species with dry fruit composed of two parts, but the majority of species with a fleshy berry, of 3-9 parts.
Seeds: Seeds 2-9 per fruit.
Other
Uses: Wood used in carpentry, to make matchsticks, and sometimes as a substitute for balsa wood. The petioles are sometimes used to make toys, as well as cages for birds. Medicinal.
Distribution: New World and the Old World tropics.