Queensland Umbrella Tree (Schefflera actinophylla, Brassaia actinophylla)
Family: Araliaceae (Aralia Family)
Native range: Northeastern Australia and southern New Guinea.
Description: A single- or multi-trunked tree to 40 feet tall or more with dark green, palmately compound leaves. The leaves consist of 9 to 15 glossy, oblong, foot-long leaflets that radiate outward like an umbrella. The terminal inflorescence produces small red flowers along 2- to 3-foot long spikes that radiate outward from the tip of each flower spike. The 1/2-inch wide round fruit are scarlet, turning dark purple when ripe.
Ecological threat: Umbrella tree is fast-becoming a serious pest in Miami-Dade county where it aggressively invades intact, undisturbed hardwood forests and, to a lesser extent, pine rockland habitat. It often grows as an epiphyte on other trees (including palms) when young, and can grow as a lithophyte on rocks and stone structures. Population densities can be very high in areas where a seed source is nearby. It is also a major pest plant in Hawaii where it sometimes constitutes the most common tree in forest areas.
Distribution in Florida: Mostly southeastern Florida, including the Florida Keys.
Background: Introduced into Florida as a fast-growing, flowering landscape tree. It remains extremely popular both as a landscape tree in Florida and as an indoor subject in Florida and elsewhere. Umbrella tree is salt- and drought-tolerant. A shrubby species, Schefflera arboricola, is also cultivated in Florida but has not escaped cultivation.
