Schefflera shweliensis W. W. Sm.

This species is used for timber.

Trees, to 20 m tall, probably andromonoecious. Petiole (8-)12-24 cm; petiolules to (1-)1.5 cm; leaflets 5-9(-11), narrowly obovate to oblanceolate, 6-15 × 1.5-3.5(-4) cm, leathery, both surfaces glabrous, secondary veins 7-9 pairs, nearly obscure to conspicuous on both surfaces, tertiary veins indistinct, base narrowly acute, margin entire, apex long acuminate. Inflorescence a terminal panicle of racemes, gray-white stellate pubescent, glabrescent; primary axis 15-40 cm; secondary axes often present only in basal portion of primary axis, to 13 cm; pedicels 2-4 mm. Calyx glabrous to sparsely stellate pubescent, 5-toothed. Ovary 5(or 6)-carpellate; styles united into a column. Fruit blue-black when mature, globose, 4-5 mm in diam., 5-ribbed when dry; style 1.5-2.5 mm. Fl. Aug-Nov, fr. Oct-Jan. 2n = 48*.

W Yunnan.

● Evergreen broad-leaved forests, forest margins, dry mountain slopes; 1900-2800 m.

Agalma shweliense (W. W. Smith) Hutchinson.

Flowering from August to November; fruiting from October to January.

Schefflera shweliensis is close relative of Schefflera taiwaniana, but differs from the latter in its up to 1.3 cm long (vs. longer than 1.5 cm) petiolules.

Schefflera shweliensis is occurring in Xizang, W Yunnan of China.

Several recent phylogenetic studies have shown that Schefflera is clearly polyphyletic (Lowry II et al., 2004; Plunkett et al., 2004; Plunkett et al., 2005) and that the Asian species belong to a single, well-supported, morphologically coherent clade. The phylogeny of tropical Asian Schefflera was inferred from internal transcribed spacer (ITS) region of nuclear ribosomal DNA, and the chloroplast ndhF gene, the trnL-trnF region, the rps16 intron, the atpB-rbcL intergenic spacer, the rpl16 intron, and the psbA-trnH intergenic spacer. The phylogenetic analysis shown a closely relationship between Schefflera shweliensis and Schefflera taiwaniana.

Trees, to 20 m tall, probably andromonoecious. Petiole 12-24 cm; petiolules to 1-1.5 cm; leaflets 5-9, narrowly obovate to oblanceolate, 6-15 cm long, 1.5-3.5 cm wide, leathery, both surfaces glabrous, secondary veins 7-9 pairs, nearly obscure to conspicuous on both surfaces, tertiary veins indistinct, base narrowly acute, margin entire, apex long acuminate. Inflorescence a terminal panicle of racemes, gray-white stellate pubescent, glabrescent; primary axis 15-40 cm; secondary axes often present only in basal portion of primary axis, to 13 cm; pedicels 2-4 mm. Calyx glabrous to sparsely stellate pubescent, 5-toothed. Ovary 5-6-carpellate; styles united into a column. Fruit blue-black when mature, globose, 4-5 mm in diameter, 5-ribbed when dry; style 1.5-2.5 mm.

The chromosomal number of Schefflera shweliensis 2n = 48 (Yi et al., 2004).

Growing in evergreen broad-leaved forest, forest margins, dry mountain slopes; 1900-2800 m.

Schefflera shweliensis is used for timber.