Fatsia japonica
Fatsia japonica
''Fatsia japonica'' is a species of ''Fatsia'', native to southern Japan and South Korea.
It is an evergreen shrub growing to 3–6 m tall, with stout, sparsely branched stems. The leaves are spirally-arranged, large, 20–50 cm in width and on a petiole up to 50 cm long, leathery, palmately lobed, with 7–9 broad lobes, divided to half or two-thirds of the way to the base of the leaf; the lobes are edged with coarse, blunt teeth. The flowers are small, white, borne in dense terminal compound umbels in late autumn or early winter, followed by small black fruit.
The name "Fatsi" is an approximation of the old Japanese word for 'eight' , referring to the eight lobes. In Japan it is known as Yatsude meaning eight fingers. The name "Japanese Aralia" is due to the genus formerly being classified within a broader interpretation of the related genus ''Aralia'' in the past. It has been interbred with ''Hedera helix'' to produce ''Fatshedera lizei''.
This plant, together with its cultivar ''F. japonica variegata'', has gained the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit.
It is an evergreen shrub growing to 3–6 m tall, with stout, sparsely branched stems. The leaves are spirally-arranged, large, 20–50 cm in width and on a petiole up to 50 cm long, leathery, palmately lobed, with 7–9 broad lobes, divided to half or two-thirds of the way to the base of the leaf; the lobes are edged with coarse, blunt teeth. The flowers are small, white, borne in dense terminal compound umbels in late autumn or early winter, followed by small black fruit.
The name "Fatsi" is an approximation of the old Japanese word for 'eight' , referring to the eight lobes. In Japan it is known as Yatsude meaning eight fingers. The name "Japanese Aralia" is due to the genus formerly being classified within a broader interpretation of the related genus ''Aralia'' in the past. It has been interbred with ''Hedera helix'' to produce ''Fatshedera lizei''.
This plant, together with its cultivar ''F. japonica variegata'', has gained the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit.