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]

Clade:Tracheophytes

Clade:Angiosperms

Clade:Eudicots

Clade:Asterids

Quick facts Scientific classification, Species ...

Polyscias

Polyscias guilfoylei & Polyscias fruticosa
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
Clade:	Tracheophytes
Clade:	Angiosperms
Clade:	Eudicots
Clade:	Asterids
Order:	Apiales
Family:	Araliaceae
Subfamily:	Aralioideae
Genus:	Polyscias J.R.Forst. & G.Forst.^[1]
Species
See text
Synonyms^[1]
28 synonyms Arthrophyllum Blume Bonnierella R.Vig. Botryopanax Miq. Cuphocarpus Decne. & Planch. Dipanax Seem. Eremopanax Baill. Eupteron Miq. Gastonia Comm. ex Lam. Gelibia Hutch. Grotefendia Seem. Indokingia Hemsl. Irvingia F.Muell. Kissodendron Seem. Maralia Thouars Montagueia Baker f. Munroidendron Sherff Nesodoxa Calest. Nothopanax Miq. Oligoscias Seem. Palmervandenbroekia Gibbs Peekeliopanax Harms Pterotropia W.F.Hillebr. Reynoldsia A.Gray Sciadopanax Seem. Shirleyopanax Domin Tetraplasandra A.Gray Tieghemopanax R.Vig. Triplasandra Seem.

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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]^{[better source needed]}

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