Return to This Plant's Category:  Ruttya to Solanum Schefflera schizophylla (Syn.: Schefflera incisa, Schefflera actinophylla 'Nova'), Nova Umbrella Tree
	Code: 90565 Price: $49.95
	Quantity: Quantity in Basket: None

Limit of one per customer. Family: Araliaceae We previously offered this plant as Schefflera actinophylla 'Nova'. This is a very rare unusual looking schefflera with large jagged maple-like leaves that are deeply serrated and pointed at the tips. New growth is bronze colored, later turning to dark green as the compound leaves mature. Image of the flower stalk is at the top of the page. Most botanical gardens list it as a cultivar of Schefflera actinophylla. However, Marc Frank of the University of Florida Herbarium has identified it as Schefflera schizophylla. Plant explorer and hybridizer, John Banta of Altha, Florida, introduced it to the U.S. sometime prior to 2002. It was briefly put into tissue culture by Agristarts at the time. However, it was soon taken off the market and is now rarely offered. Banta had been quoted in 2008 as saying that 'Nova' definitely is not S. actinophylla and that he originally observed the plant growing in the Philippines but obtained the seed from a plant growing in Indonesia near Jakarta. He did not know the species at the time, and did not believe it to be a hybrid. It is native to Vietnam, Cambodia, and Thailand and is cultivated elsewhere in Southeast Asia. It's ideal as a container plant that can be kept 3 to 4 feet tall or planted outside in a tropical environment as a large distinctive specimen plant. Give it rich soil, moisture, and partial to full sun. It is more cold sensitive than other varieties of umbrella tree, defoliating under 40F. If protected from freezing, it should regrow new leaves as temperatures warm. USDA zones 10 - 12.

Keyed Cultural Guide: The following symbols are listed with many product descriptions. If so, they indicate special characteristics or growing requirements. Also, see "Cultural Information".

(B) Hanging
basket (D) Dwarf
under 12" (F) Flourescent lights for
indoor light culture (H) Humid
conditions (M) Miniature
under 6" (T) Terrarium
plant (W) Winter
flowering

Key to USDA Hardiness Zones