Neocussonia umbellifera

Neocussonia umbellifera is an evergreen to semi-deciduous Southern African tree of 15-20m growing in escarpment and coastal forest in Malawi, through eastern Zimbabwe and Mozambique along the east coast to South Africa, as far south as the Garden Route. It belongs to the Araliaceae or Cabbage Tree family, and was formerly placed in the genus Schefflera, created by J.R.Forst. & G.Forst. in 1776 to honour the 18th century German physician and botanist Johann Peter Ernst von Scheffler (born in 1739) of Danzig, and not to be confused with writer and physician Jacob Christoph Scheffler (1698-1745) of Altdorf bei Nürnberg.[3][4][5][6][7][8]

Neocussonia umbellifera
From "The Forests and Forest Flora of The Colony of the Cape of Good Hope" by Thomas Robertson Sim (1858-1938)
Habit of Neocussonia umbellifera (Bart Wursten)
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Asterids
Order: Apiales
Family: Araliaceae
Genus: Neocussonia
Species:
N. umbellifera
Binomial name
Neocussonia umbellifera
(Sond.) Hutch (1967)[2]
Synonyms[2]
  • Cussonia buchananii Harms (1899)
  • Cussonia chartacea Schinz (1894)
  • Cussonia umbellifera Sond. (1850)
  • Neocussonia buchananii (Harms) Hutch. (1967)
  • Schefflera umbellifera (Sond.) Baill. (1879)
  • Schefflera umbellifera var. buchananii (Harms) Tennant (1960)

Description

Preferring regions of higher rainfall, it occurs to an elevation of 2000m above sea level, often with a clean stem in its lower half, but much-branched in the upper half, and a trunk of up to some 600mm diameter. The foliage is dark green above, paler below, dense and tufted. Leaves are digitately compound, 5-7 foliate with some 250mm long leaf stalks or petioles, and leaflets oblong, with entire but undulate margins, 10–15 cm long on short petiolules some 40mm long. Leaflets are emarginate with a terminal mucro or acute, while the base is cuneate, sometimes obliquely.

Flowers, between January and May, are small and pale yellow in umbels in a somewhat umbellate terminal panicle. Fruit are small, up to 7mm diameter, and globose. They are red when mature and appear from June to August.[9][10]

This species lends itself to Bonsai, the Japanese art of growing stunted trees in containers.[11]

Medicinal

A dichloromethane extract of N. umbellifera yields an active compound, betulin, which shows some antiplasmodial activity. Leaf and bark decoctions and infusions have been used in traditional medicine for indigestion, rheumatism, colic, insanity and malaria. Roots are used as a diuretic and laxative, for malaria, venereal diseases and nausea. Bark extracts are also used for stomach ulcers.

Compounds from Araliaceae display a wide range of pharmacological properties including antifungal, antimalarial, anti-inflammatory, anti-brain tumour and antibacterial activity.[12]

Citations
  • Schefflera umbellifera (Sond.) Baill. in "Adansonia" 12: 147 (1878); Bernardi in "Candollea" 24: 93 (1969); Bamps in "Bull. Jard. Bot. Nat. Belg" 44: 136 (1974); "Distrib. Afr. Pl." 8: map 244 (1974). Type from S. Africa.
  • Cussonia umbellifera Sond. in "Linnaea" 23: 49 (1850); Harv. & Sond., "Flora Capensis" 2: 570 (1862); Bak. f. in "Journ. Linn. Soc., Bot." 40: 76 (1911); Eyles in "Trans. Roy. Soc. S. Afr." 5: 433 (1916); Burtt Davy, "F.P.F.T." 2: 514 (1932); Steedman, "Some Trees, Shrubs and Lianes of S. Rhod.": 58 (1933); Burtt Davy & Hoyle, "N.C.L.": 32 (1936). Type as above.[13]

References
  1. Botanic Gardens Conservation International (BGCI) & IUCN SSC Global Tree Specialist Group. 2020. Neocussonia umbellifera. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2020: e.T146459147A146459149. https://dx.doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2020-2.RLTS.T146459147A146459149.en. Accessed 7 May 2023.
  2. Neocussonia umbellifera (Sond.) Hutch. Plants of the World Online. Retrieved 7 May 2023.
  3. CJB, CJB, DSIC, Cyrille Chatelain -. "CJB - African plant database - Detail". www.ville-ge.ch. Retrieved 2017-08-04.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  4. "Schefflera — The Plant List". www.theplantlist.org. Retrieved 2017-08-04.
  5. "San Francisco Florists - Flowers in San Francisco CA - Hoogasian Flowers". www.hoogasian.com. Retrieved 2017-08-04.
  6. "Scheffler, Jacob Christoph". thesaurus.cerl.org. Retrieved 2017-08-04.
  7. Reinhold, Forster, Johann; P., Elmsly; B., White; Cadell., Thomas (1776). "Characteres generum plantarum, quas in itinere ad insulas maris Australis, : collegerunt, descripserunt, delinearunt, annis 1772-1775. /". {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link). (scan)
  8. Gottfried, Reyger; Christian, Mentzel (1764–1766). "Tentamen florae Gedanensis methodo sexuali adcommodatae". v.1-2. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  9. "Schefflera umbellifera | PlantZAfrica.com". www.plantzafrica.com. Retrieved 2017-08-04.
  10. "Forest False Cabbage-tree - Schefflera umbellifera - Overview - Encyclopedia of Life". Encyclopedia of Life. Retrieved 2017-08-04.
  11. "Schefflera umbellifera Bonsai Tree Seeds - Indigenous | bidorbuy.co.za". bidorbuy.co.za. Retrieved 2017-08-04.
  12. "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2014-05-08. Retrieved 2014-05-07.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  13. "Schefflera umbellifera Sond. Baill. [family ARALIACEAE]".
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