Hi again. Here's a tree on our property. No one has any idea what it is - it doesn't seem to fruit or flower. I'm showing 3 pictures in which I try to show as much detail as possible but against a bright sky it's not easy (please ignore the bamboo leaves). We're in a subtropical mountain climate. Any ideas from the experts here? Thanks in advance ( photo / image / picture from zafra's Garden ) ( photo / image / picture from zafra's Garden ) ( photo / image / picture from zafra's Garden ) ( photo / image / picture from zafra's Garden )
Wow...the leaves remind me of a Schefflera that I grow indoors. I had no idea they got so LARGE in their natural habitat!
hmm. The leaves are for sure similar but looking up schefflera I see mention of flowering, and this tree doesn't seem to flower. Of course it's hard to find any info that doesn't refer to it as a houseplant. Do others agree with the schefflera idea?
I stayed at a motel in Florida attending a conference. My room was on the second floor with a balcony. Outside the balcony and growing another story more was a schefflera. Yes, some members of the Schefflera family grow to 40 feet high in southern and central Florida. The one outside my room was a Schefflera actinophylla. Short answer, yes, Schefflera. Jerry
I'm not sure. The leaves don't droop down creating the umbrella shape that scheffleras generally have, and the tree itself doesn't have the same shape as the big schefflera trees I'm seeing online. And there's still that fact that I'm pretty sure this tree doesn't flower, which scheffleras do, right? Also it has only one main trunk and the scheffleras I'm seeing that are large are multi-trunked.
Found this native of Venezuela Schefflera morototoni http://www.cybertruffle.org.uk/vinales/eng/schefflera_morototoni.htm
I found this topic very interesting, and this is one of the many examples of why I love Garden Stew! I really enjoy seeing pictures and chatting with all of you folks from all over our world. Very cool. I have a little Schefflera that is about 1 foot high :-| grown as a houseplant (outside for summer vacation right now) but seeing this huge tree is pretty neat!
This is fun isn't it! I'm going to have to get some leaves next time I go out there to compare to the photos. I think I'm going Sunday so all of you interested types check back Sunday evening or Monday for a verdict (or not). Thanks to all who have replied so far! (More input still very much appreciated in the meantime though.) Cheers to all Zafra
Yes this is super fun sharing with people all over the world and getting to see their gardens. It would be fun to visit a lot of them.
Schefflera is certainly what it looks like to me. I would imagine that when in their native environment, they would have many differences from our little houseplants. And we may have a variation of yours hybridized for the flowering although mine never flowered. Just a green plant !
That looks like what I call an umbrella plant. I have grown them as house plants...who knew they could get so big?
My Mom had one growing outside in south Florida many years ago. Her's was around 10-20 feet tall when they moved.
