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  1. Family: Araliaceae Juss.

    1. Polyscias J.R.Forst. & G.Forst.

        2. This genus is accepted, and its native range is Tropical Africa to Pacific.

    [FTEA]

    Araliaceae, J. R. Tennant. Flora of Tropical East Africa. 0

    Habit
    Trees
    Leaves
    Leaves petiolate, more than once pinnately compound or pari- or imparipinnate, glabrous or pubescent with simple or stellate hairs Leaflets simple with margin generally either entire or nearly so, or sometimes pinnately compound or pinnatisect
    Stipules
    Stipules present or absent
    Inflorescences
    Inflorescences paniculate, glabrous to densely tomentose, sometimes branching in a very orderly racemose manner (species 1–3); ultimate branches (pedicels) arranged in racemules or umbellules; pedicels (except in P. stuhlmannii var. inarticulata) articulate just below the flower
    Flowers
    Flowers with calyx-margin repando-5-dentate to subentire
    Corolla
    Petals 5
    Stamens
    Stamens 5
    Disc
    Disk nearly flat, slightly convex or conically raised
    Pistil
    Ovary bilocular or (in P. stuhlmannii) 5-locular; styles 2, connivent at base, or (in P. stuhlmannii) 5, free or nearly so
    Fruits
    Fruit laterally compressed or practically terete
    Seeds
    Seeds laterally compressed, ellipsoidal, fluted or smooth; endosperm non-ruminate.
    [FZ]

    Araliaceae, J. F. M. Cannon. Flora Zambesiaca 4. 1978

    Habit
    Trees, often tall and with noticeably regular branching.
    Leaves
    Leaves petiolate, pinnately compound (bipinnate outside our area), glabrous to densely tomentose with stellate (or simple) hairs. Leaflets simple (or divided in species outside our area), more or less entire.
    Inflorescences
    Inflorescence paniculate, regularly compound, racemosely branched in species of our area, the ultimate divisions of racemules or umbellules.
    Calyx
    Calyx forming a shallow cup, subentire or shallowly 5-toothed.
    Corolla
    Petals and stamens 5; stylopodium not well developed.
    Pistil
    Ovary 2-locular (sometimes 5-locular in other areas); styles 2 (or 5), divergent for nearly all their length.
    Fruits
    Fruit terete (or slightly compressed).
    Seeds
    Seeds rounded or laterally compressed, ellipsoid, smooth or sometimes ribbed; endosperm non-ruminate.

    Images

    Distribution

    Native to:

    Andaman Is., Angola, Benin, Bismarck Archipelago, Borneo, Burundi, Cabinda, Cambodia, Cameroon, Caroline Is., Central African Repu, Comoros, Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Ethiopia, Fiji, Gabon, Ghana, Gilbert Is., Guinea, Gulf of Guinea Is., Hawaii, India, Jawa, Kenya, Laos, Lesser Sunda Is., Liberia, Madagascar, Malawi, Malaya, Maluku, Marianas, Marquesas, Mauritius, Mozambique, New Caledonia, New Guinea, New South Wales, Nicobar Is., Nigeria, Niue, Norfolk Is., Northern Territory, Philippines, Queensland, Rodrigues, Rwanda, Réunion, Samoa, Santa Cruz Is., Seychelles, Sierra Leone, Society Is., Solomon Is., Sri Lanka, Sudan, Sulawesi, Sumatera, Tanzania, Tasmania, Thailand, Togo, Tonga, Uganda, Vanuatu, Victoria, Vietnam, Wallis-Futuna Is., Yemen, Zambia, Zaïre, Zimbabwe

    Introduced into:

    Bahamas, Bangladesh, Christmas I., Cook Is., Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Haiti, Leeward Is., Line Is., Marshall Is., Myanmar, Puerto Rico, Trinidad-Tobago, Tuamotu, Tubuai Is., Tuvalu, Venezuelan Antilles

    Polyscias J.R.Forst. & G.Forst. appears in other Kew resources:

    Date Reference Identified As Barcode Type Status
    6049.168
    Du Puy, B. [MB216], Madagascar 57371.000
    Wheatley, J.I. [686], Vanuatu 55000.000
    DuPuy, B. [MB 513], Madagascar 63269.000
    DuPuy, B. [MB 504], Madagascar 63569.000

    First published in Char. Gen. Pl.: 63 (1776)

    Accepted by

    • Lowry II, 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: 55-84.
    • Frodin, D.G. & Govaerts, R. (2003 publ. 2004). World Checklist and Bibliography of Araliaceae: 1-444. The Board of Trustees of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew.

    Literature

    Flora of West Tropical Africa
    • Harms in E. & P. Pflanzenfam. 3, 8: 43 (1894).
    • Char. Gen. 63 (1776)
    Flora Zambesiaca
    • emend. Harms in Engl. & Prantl, Pflanzenfam. 3, 8: 43 (1894).
    • Char. Gen. Pl.: 63, t. 32 (1776)
    Flora of Tropical East Africa
    • emend. Harms in E. & P. Pf. 3 (8): 43 (1894)
    • Char. Gen.: 63, t. 32 (1776)

    Sources

    Flora Zambesiaca
    Flora Zambesiaca
    http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0

    Flora of Tropical East Africa
    Flora of Tropical East Africa
    http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0

    Herbarium Catalogue Specimens
    'The Herbarium Catalogue, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Published on the Internet http://www.kew.org/herbcat [accessed on Day Month Year]'. Please enter the date on which you consulted the system.

    Kew Backbone Distributions
    The International Plant Names Index and World Checklist of Selected Plant Families 2019. Published on the Internet at http://www.ipni.org and http://apps.kew.org/wcsp/
    © Copyright 2017 World Checklist of Selected Plant Families. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0

    Kew Names and Taxonomic Backbone
    The International Plant Names Index and World Checklist of Selected Plant Families 2019. Published on the Internet at http://www.ipni.org and http://apps.kew.org/wcsp/
    © Copyright 2017 International Plant Names Index and World Checklist of Selected Plant Families. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0