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  1. Family: Araliaceae Juss.
    1. Genus: Polyscias J.R.Forst. & G.Forst.

      1. Polyscias fulva (Hiern) Harms

        This species is accepted, and its native range is Tropical Africa, SW. Arabian Peninsula.

    [FWTA]

    Araliaceae, Hutchinson and Dalziel. Flora of West Tropical Africa 1:2. 1958

    Habit
    A tree, 20–50 ft. high, rarely to 100 ft.
    Leaves
    The large leaves bunched at the top of the rather few branches; leaflets white-tomentose beneath, dark green above
    Flowers
    Flowers cream
    Ecology
    Usually in montane forest.
    [FTEA]

    Araliaceae, J. R. Tennant. Flora of Tropical East Africa. 1968

    Habit
    A tree to 30 m. tall, often with a large grey extremely straight unbranched cylindrical bole of up to 15 m. tall and 1 m. diameter, generally dividing into a small number of main branches which themselves each branch in a similar manner.
    Leaves
    Leaves up to 80 cm. long, generally imparipinnate, less often paripinnate; leaflets (3–)6–7(–12) pairs, chartaceous to coriaceous, lanceolate to ovate (occasionally very broadly ovate), often markedly straight-edged, up to 14(–17) cm. long and up to 5.5(–7.5) cm. wide, acute to acuminate, generally apiculate, rarely retuse, rounded or obtuse, with a subcordate, truncate or rounded, rarely very broadly cuneate, occasionally slightly oblique base, and entire occasionally slightly undulate, generally very narrowly inrolled margins, densely stellate-tomentose when young, irregularly glabrescent to some degree (especially above) later; petiolules of paired leaflets (0–)5(–14) mm. long.
    Inflorescences
    Inflorescence-branches of three orders (fig. 4/2), racemosely borne, pubescent to tomentose, often irregularly glabrescent, sometimes galled (see p. 1); primaries up to 70 cm. long, 3.0–6.5 mm. diameter; secondaries up to 3–7(–12) cm. long, 0.7–1.7(–2.0) mm. diameter; tertiaries (pedicels) up to 4 mm. (not exceeding 2.5 mm. in Flora area) long, 0.3–0.8(–1.0) mm. diameter.
    Flowers
    Flowers greenish-yellow to cream; style, 2, persistent in fruit.
    Fruits
    Fruits ovoid to obovoid, occasionally ellipsoid, shortly cylindroidal or subspheroidal, 3.5–6.0 mm. long by 3.0–4.5 mm. maximum width, generally ribbed and markedly flattened, glabrous or very sparsely stellate-hairy.
    Figures
    Fig. 4/1–5, p. 13.
    Habitat
    Upland and lowland rain-forest, riverine forest, also upland grassland; 1180–2160 m.
    Distribution
    widely spread from Guinée Republic to Ethiopia, and southwards through the Congo Republic to Malawi, Zambia, Rhodesia and Angola K5 K7 T1 T2 T3 T4 T6 T7 U2 U3 U4
    [FZ]

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

    Habit
    A tall tree up to 30 m. high with a long unbranched trunk, eventually dividing into primary and secondary branches in a very regular manner.
    Leaves
    Leaves up to 80 cm. long, regularly pinnate, usually imparipinnate though examples lacking the terminal leaflet are encountered.
    Leaflets
    Leaflets (3)6–7(12)—paired, up to 12(17) × 5(7·5) cm., sessile or with petioles of up to c. 10 mm. long, coriaceous (often strongly so), lanceolate-ovate (the terminal leaflet often broader and more ovate than the lateral paired ones); apices acute, often with a small mucro, rarely obtuse and emarginate; bases rounded to subcordate (rarely subcuneate); margins entire to slightly undulate, more or less convolute, becoming leathery and subglabrous, the lower surface more or less densely tomentose.
    Inflorescences
    Primary axes up to 40(70) cm. long, tomentose to subglabrous, bearing numerous laterals of 8(12) cm. long, densely crowded with flowers, but elongating somewhat as the fruit matures. Inflorescence a complex of compound racemosely arranged racemes.
    Flowers
    Pedicels up to 5 mm. long; petals greenish to creamy white, flowers honey-scented.
    Stylopodium
    Stylopodium somewhat depressed, styles widely divergent for most of their length.
    Fruits
    Fruit broadly-ovoid to subglobose, 3–4(6) × 3–5 mm., glabrous to slightly pubescent, somewhat ribbed.

    Images

    Distribution

    Native to:

    Angola, Benin, Burundi, Cabinda, Cameroon, Central African Repu, Congo, Ethiopia, Ghana, Guinea, Gulf of Guinea Is., Kenya, Liberia, Malawi, Mozambique, Nigeria, Rwanda, Sierra Leone, Sudan, Tanzania, Togo, Uganda, Yemen, Zambia, Zaïre, Zimbabwe

    Polyscias fulva (Hiern) Harms appears in other Kew resources:

    Date Reference Identified As Barcode Type Status
    Apr 1, 2006 Cheek, M. [11241], Cameroon K000339126
    Apr 1, 2006 Cheek, M. [11560], Cameroon K000339127
    Jan 1, 1997 Tekwe, C. [230], Cameroon K000339357
    Nov 1, 1974 Whyte, A. [n.s.], Malawi K000350328
    Ethiopia K000350316
    Drummond, R.B. [1752], Tanzania 909.000
    Ujor, E. [30220], Cameroon 6492.000
    Stolz, A. [1661], Tanzania K000350320
    Stolz, A. [1661], Tanzania K000350321
    Stolz, A. [1661], Tanzania K000350322
    Mann, G. [301], Sierra Leone K000350312 Unknown type material
    Mann, G. [301], Sierra Leone K000350313
    [Rainton, F.] [141], Sao Tome and Principe K000350314
    [Rothn], Dr. [s.n.], Ethiopia K000350315
    Harris, T. [497], Malawi K000614574
    Timberlake, J. [5281], Mozambique K000614010

    First published in H.G.A.Engler & K.A.E.Prantl, Nat. Pflanzenfam. 3(8): 45 (1894)

    Accepted by

    • Darbyshire, I., Kordofani, M., Farag, I., Candiga, R. & Pickering, H. (eds.) (2015). The Plants of Sudan and South Sudan: 1-400. Kew publishing, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew.
    • Jongkind, C. (2014). Fauna & Flora of Liberia, flowering plant species list www.liberianfaunaflora.org.
    • Fischer, E., Rembold, K., Althof, A. & Obholzer, J. (2010). Annotated checklist of the vascular plants of Kakamega forest, Western province, Kenya Journal of East African Natural History 99: 129-226.
    • Timberlake, J.R., Bayliss, J., Alves, T., Francisco, J., Harris, T., Nangoma, D. & de Sousa, C. (2009). Biodiversity and Conservation of Mchese Mountain, Malawi. Report produced under the Darwin Initiative Award 15/036: 1-71. Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew.
    • Figueiredo, E. & Smith, G.F. (2008). Plants of Angola Strelitzia 22: 1-279. National Botanical Institute, Pretoria.
    • Strugnell, A.M. (2006). A checklist of the Spermatophytes of Mt. Mulanje, Malawi Scripta Botanica Belgica 34: 1-199.
    • Akoègninou, A., van der Burg, W.J. & van der Maesen, L.J.G. (eds.) (2006). Flore Analytique du Bénin: 1-1034. Backhuys Publishers.
    • Calane da Silva, M., Izdine, S. & Amuse, A.B. (2004). A Preliminary Checklist of the Vascular Plants of Mozambique: 1-184. SABONET, Pretoria.
    • 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.
    • Brunel, J.F., Hiepo, P. & Scholz, H. (eds.) (1984). Flore Analytique du Togo Phanérogames: 1-751. GTZ, Eschborn.

    Literature

    Flora of West Tropical Africa
    • Lebrun in Publ. I.N.E.A.C. Sér. Sci. 1: 179, t. 15 (1935).
    • Hutch. & Dalz. F.W.T.A., ed. 1, 1: 520 (1928)
    • in E. & P. Pflanzenfam. 3, 8: 45 (1894)
    Kew Backbone Distributions
    • Jongkind, C. (2014). Fauna & Flora of Liberia, flowering plant species list www.liberianfaunaflora.org.
    • Fischer, E., Rembold, K., Althof, A. & Obholzer, J. (2010). Annotated checklist of the vascular plants of Kakamega forest, Western province, Kenya Journal of East African Natural History 99: 129-226.
    • Figueiredo, E. & Smith, G.F. (2008). Plants of Angola Strelitzia 22: 1-279. National Botanical Institute, Pretoria.
    • Akoègninou, A., van der Burg, W.J. & van der Maesen, L.J.G. (eds.) (2006). Flore Analytique du Bénin: 1-1034. Backhuys Publishers.
    Flora of Tropical East Africa
    • F. White, Forest Flora of Northern Rhodesia p. 313 (1962).
    • Keay, Flora of West Tropical Africa, ed. 2, 1: 750 (1958).
    • F. W. Andr., The Flowering Plants of the Anglo-Egyptian Sudan 2: 356 (1952).
    • W.J. Eggeling, Indigenous Trees of the Uganda Protectorate, ed. 2: 34, photo. 3 (1952).
    • J.P.M. Brenan, Check-lists of the Forest Trees and Shrubs of the British Empire no. 5, part II, Tanganyika Territory p. 60 (1949).
    • Robyns, Flore des Spermatophytes du Parc National Albert 1: 692 (1948).
    • A. Engler & O. Drude, Die Vegetation Der Erde, IX, Pflanzenwelt Afrikas 3 (2): 780 (1921).
    • Harms in A. Engler & K. Prantl, Die Natürlichen Pflanzenfamilien 3 (8): 45 (1894).

    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

    Flora of West Tropical Africa
    Flora of West Tropical 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.
    Digital Image © Board of Trustees, RBG Kew http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

    Kew Backbone Distributions
    The International Plant Names Index and World Checklist of Selected Plant Families 2020. 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 2020. 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