Schefflera is a genus of flowering plants in the family Araliaceae with 13 species native to New Zealand and some Pacific islands.
The genus is named in honor of , physician and botanist of Gdańsk, and later of Warsaw, who contributed plants to for Reyger's book, Tentamen Florae Gedanensis.Forster. J.R. and Forster, G. Characteres Generum Plantarum (page). 1776Reyger, G. Tentamen Florae Gedanensis. vol. 2. 1766
Taxonomy The circumscription of the genus has varied greatly. Phylogenetic studies have shown that the widely used broad circumscription was polyphyletic, so most of its hundreds of species have been reassigned to other genera. Molecular analyses have recovered five polyphyletic clades of Schefflera, all of which are geographically isolated from one another yet share similar traits indicating parallel evolution. These clades have been split into separate genera, primarily along geographical lines, with Schefflera now consisting of thirteen species restricted to New Zealand and some Pacific islands. The houseplant popularly known as "Schefflera" is now Heptapleurum arboricola.
The old Didymopanax Decne. & Planch., 1854 genus was resurrected in 2020 to welcome the 37 American species of Schefflera J.R. et G. Forst..
The genus has had a turbulent taxonomic history; the list of former synonyms includes:
Actinomorphe Actinophyllum Agalma Astropanax Brassaia Cephaloschefflera Crepinella Didymopanax Geopanax Heptapleurum Neocussonia Nesopanax Parapanax Paratropia Plerandra Sciadophyllum Tupidanthus
Species 13 species are currently accepted:Schefflera J.R.Forst. & G.Forst. Plants of the World Online. Accessed 16 April 2023. Schefflera balansana – New Caledonia Schefflera candelabrum – New Caledonia Schefflera coenosa – southeastern New Caledonia, including Isle of Pines Schefflera digitata – New Zealand Schefflera euthytricha – Fiji Schefflera kerchoveiana – Vanuatu Schefflera leratii – New Caledonia Schefflera neoebudica – Vanuatu Schefflera ouveana – New Caledonia (Loyalty Islands) Schefflera pseudocandelabrum – New Caledonia Schefflera samoensis – Samoa Schefflera vieillardii – New Caledonia Schefflera vitiensis – Fiji
Fossil record Two fossil fruits of †Schefflera dorofeevii have been extracted from bore hole samples of the Middle Miocene fresh water deposits in Nowy Sacz Basin, West Carpathians, Poland.Łańcucka-Środoniowa M.: Macroscopic plant remains from the freshwater Miocene of the Nowy Sącz Basin (West Carpathians, Poland) [Szczątki makroskopowe roślin z miocenu słodkowodnego Kotliny Sądeckiej (Karpaty Zachodnie, Polska)]. Acta Palaeobotanica 1979 20 (1): 3–117.
See also Astropanax Crepinella Didymopanax Heptapleurum Neocussonia Plerandra Sciadophyllum
References