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Heptapleurum actinophyllum
Also called Octopus tree, Australian Umbrella Tree, Australian Cabbagetree, Queensland Umbrella Tree
In Singapore: Umbrella Tree, Octopus Tree, Australian Ivy - Palm, Queensland, Ivy Palm, Brassaia, 伞树, 澳洲鸭脚木 (Grown in Singapore)
An evergreen tree from tropical rainforests of Queensland, the Northern Territory, New Guinea and Java, grown as a decorative garden tree in mild climates and as a young houseplant elsewhere. It is fast-growing and its roots can be aggressive, so plant it with space.
Heptapleurum actinophyllum (formerly Schefflera actinophylla) is a tree in the family Araliaceae. It is native to tropical rainforests and gallery forests in northern and northeastern Queensland coasts and the Northern Territory of Australia, as well as New Guinea and Java. Common names include Australian umbrella tree, Queensland umbrella tree, octopus tree and amate.
It is commonly grown in mild to warm climates as a decorative tree in larger gardens and, when mature, it has red spikes of flowers with up to 20 racemes which develop in summer or early autumn. Propagation is by seed or cuttings. It prefers well-drained soil and only needs occasional watering and feeding to thrive. It is, however, an aggressive plant and its roots can dominate surrounding soil. In some areas (e.g., Florida and Hawaii, USA), it is an invasive weed and therefore planting is highly unadvised.
With a minimum temperature of 13 °C (55 °F), juvenile specimens are grown in temperate regions as houseplants. This plant has gained the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit.
The up to 1,000 flowers produced by the plant generate large amounts of nectar, attracting nectar-eating birds that pollinate them. The fruits are eaten by many birds and animals including musky rat-kangaroos, red-legged pademelons and spectacled flying foxes. Its leaves are a favourite food of the Bennett's tree-kangaroo.
[Contains information from Leaf Area Index (LAI) and Heritage Trees from data.gov.sg (National Parks Board), made available under the terms of the Singapore Open Data Licence version 1.0]
Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Heptapleurum actinophyllum by its contributors, under CC BY-SA 4.0; the excerpts and the care summary drawn from them are shared under the same licence.
The care summary was written by AI (Claude, Anthropic) from the sources on this page, with general growing knowledge where they are silent. Check before relying on it.
Life form, climate and native range: World Checklist of Vascular Plants, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (CC BY 3.0), reformatted; see Plants of the World Online.
