Paperplant (Fatsia japonica)
Description
Fatsia japonica(syn. Aralia japonica Thunb., A. sieboldii Hort. ex K.Koch), also glossy-leaf paper plant,fatsi, paperplant or Japanese aralia, is a species of flowering plant in the family Araliaceae, native to southern Japan, southern Korea, and Taiwan. It is an evergreen shrub growing to 1-3 m (3 ft 3 in-9 ft 10 in) tall, with stout, sparsely branched stems. The leaves are spirally-arranged, large, 20-40 cm (7.9-15.7 in) in width and on a petiole up to 50 cm (20 in) 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 in spring. The name "fatsi" is an approximation of the old Japanese word for 'eight' (hachi in modern Japanese), 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 (common ivy) to produce the intergeneric hybrid - Fatshedera lizei.
Taxonomic tree
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Domain: Eukarya
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Kingdom: Plantae
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Phylum: Magnoliophyta
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Class: Magnoliopsida
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Order: Apiales
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Family: Araliaceae
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Genus: Fatsia
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