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NZ Plants

Schefflera digitata - patate, pate, seven-finger

Ivy family: Araliaceae

Schefflera digitata is a small many-branched tree characterised by large thin leaves divided into 5-7 leaflets arising from a single point. The leaves are distinctively soft to the touch and have fine marginal teeth. Juvenile plants in the upper half of the North Island have deeply lobed leaflets. Schefflera is a large pantropical genus with over 700 species. Named after the naturalist Johann Ernst von Scheffler (1739-1809) of Gdansk and Warsaw.
An endemic species found in moist areas throughout New Zealand.
 

Vegetative characteristics

Reproductive characteristics

Plant form: shrub up to 8 m

Arrangement of parts: symmetric
 

Flower size: 7 mm diam.

Leaf form: divided into 5-7 obovate leaflets; juvenile leaflets lobed

Sepals: 5

Leaf size: leaflets 7-18 cm

Petals: 5

Leaf arrangement: singly along stem

Sexuality: bisexual or unisexual

Leaf attachment: sheath

Stamens: 5

Leaf margin: fine teeth

Ovary: below petals

Leaf surface: hairless

Fruit: fleshy


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