Australian umbrella tree Facts for Kids

Quick facts for kids Australian umbrella tree

In Hyderabad, India
Scientific classification
Genus:	Heptapleurum
Species:	actinophyllum
Synonyms
Brassaia actinophylla Endl. Brassaia singaporensis Ridl. Schefflera actinophylla (Endl.) Harms

The Australian umbrella tree (scientific name: Heptapleurum actinophyllum) is a cool plant that grows in tropical places. It used to be called Schefflera actinophylla. This tree belongs to the Araliaceae plant family.

You can find it naturally in warm, wet rainforests. It grows in northern and north-eastern Queensland and the Northern Territory in Australia. It also lives in New Guinea and Java. People call it by many names, like the Queensland umbrella tree, octopus tree, and amate.

What Does It Look Like?
How It Helps Nature
Growing This Tree
Gallery
See also

What Does It Look Like?

The Australian umbrella tree is an evergreen tree. This means it keeps its leaves all year round. It can grow up to 15 meters (about 50 feet) tall!

Its leaves are special. They are called "palmately compound" because they look like the palm of your hand. Each leaf has seven smaller leaflets that spread out like fingers. The leaves are a medium green color.

This tree often has many trunks instead of just one. Its flowers grow at the very top of the tree. Sometimes, it starts growing on other rainforest trees. This is called being a "hemiepiphyte," which means it lives on another plant but can also grow roots down to the ground.

The tree produces long flower stalks called racemes. These can be up to 2 meters (about 6.5 feet) long! Each stalk can have as many as 1,000 small red flowers. The flowers start to appear in early summer and can keep blooming for several months.

The scientific name actinophyllum tells us something about the leaves. It means "with radiating leaves," which perfectly describes how its leaflets spread out.

How It Helps Nature

The Australian umbrella tree's flowers make a lot of sweet nectar. This nectar attracts birds that love to eat it. These birds help the tree by carrying pollen from flower to flower, which helps the tree make seeds.

Many animals enjoy eating the tree's fruits. These include animals like musky rat-kangaroos, red-legged pademelons, and spectacled flying foxes. The leaves are also a favorite food for the Bennett's tree-kangaroo.

Growing This Tree

People often grow the Australian umbrella tree in warm places as a decorative plant. It looks great in big gardens. When it's fully grown, it has amazing red flower spikes. These spikes can have up to 20 racemes and appear in summer or early autumn.

You can grow new trees from seeds or by taking cuttings from an existing plant. This tree likes soil that drains water well. It doesn't need a lot of watering or feeding to grow strong.

However, this tree can grow very quickly and strongly. Its roots can spread out and take over the soil around it. Because of this, in some places like Florida and Hawaii in the USA, it's considered an invasive plant. This means it can spread too much and harm local plants. So, planting it in those areas is not a good idea.

Young umbrella trees can also be grown indoors as houseplants in cooler areas. They need a minimum temperature of about 13 degrees Celsius (55 degrees Fahrenheit). This plant has even won an award called the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit because it's such a good garden plant.