× ''Fatshedera'' is

hybrid Hybrid may refer to: Science * Hybrid (biology), an offspring resulting from cross-breeding ** Hybrid grape, grape varieties produced by cross-breeding two ''Vitis'' species ** Hybridity, the property of a hybrid plant which is a union of two diff ...

genus of

flowering plant Flowering plants are plants that bear flowers and fruits, and form the clade Angiospermae (). The term angiosperm is derived from the Ancient Greek, Greek words (; 'container, vessel') and (; 'seed'), meaning that the seeds are enclosed with ...

common name In biology, a common name of a taxon or organism (also known as a vernacular name, English name, colloquial name, country name, popular name, or farmer's name) is a name that is based on the normal language of everyday life; and is often con ...

tree ivy or aralia ivy. It has only one species, × ''Fatshedera lizei''. The hybrid symbol × in front of the name indicates that this is an inter-generic hybrid, a cross between plants from different

genera Genus (; : genera ) is a taxonomic rank above species and below family as used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms as well as viruses. In binomial nomenclature, the genus name forms the first part of the binomial s ...

. The name may be displayed with or without a space after the × symbol. × ''Fatshedera lizei'' was created by crossing ''

Fatsia japonica ''Fatsia japonica'', also fatsi, paperplant, false castor oil plant, or Japanese aralia, is a species of flowering plant in the family Araliaceae, native to southern Japan and southern Korea. Etymology The name ''fatsi'' is an approximation of ...

'' 'Moserii' (Moser's Japanese fatsia, the seed parent) and ''

Hedera helix ''Hedera helix'', the common ivy, European ivy, King's Choice ivy, or just ivy, is a species of flowering plant in the family Araliaceae. It is native to most of Europe and parts of western Asia. Ivy is a clinging evergreen vine that grows on t ...

'' (common ivy, the pollen parent) at the Lizé Frères tree nursery at

Nantes Nantes (, ; ; or ; ) is a city in the Loire-Atlantique department of France on the Loire, from the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic coast. The city is the List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, sixth largest in France, with a pop ...

in France in 1912. Its generic name is derived from the names of the two parent genera.

Description

The plant combines the

shrub A shrub or bush is a small to medium-sized perennial woody plant. Unlike herbaceous plants, shrubs have persistent woody stems above the ground. Shrubs can be either deciduous or evergreen. They are distinguished from trees by their multiple ...

by shape of '' Fatsia'' with the five-lobed leaves of ''

Hedera ''Hedera'', commonly called ivy (plural ivies), is a genus of 12–15 species of evergreen climbing or ground-creeping woody plants in the family Araliaceae, native to Western Europe, Central Europe, Southern Europe, Macaronesia, northwestern ...

''. As a shrub, × ''F. lizei'' can grow up to 1.2 m tall, above which the weight of the fairly weak branches makes them tend to bend over. It can however also be tied to a support and grow into a

vine A vine is any plant with a growth habit of trailing or scandent (that is, climbing) stems, lianas, or runners. The word ''vine'' can also refer to such stems or runners themselves, for instance, when used in wicker work.Jackson; Benjamin; Da ...

up to 3–4 m tall; unlike ''Hedera'', it does not readily climb without assistance. The

leaf A leaf (: leaves) is a principal appendage of the plant stem, stem of a vascular plant, usually borne laterally above ground and specialized for photosynthesis. Leaves are collectively called foliage, as in "autumn foliage", while the leav ...

blades are 7–25 cm long and broad, with a 5–20 cm petiole. The

flower Flowers, also known as blooms and blossoms, are the reproductive structures of flowering plants ( angiosperms). Typically, they are structured in four circular levels, called whorls, around the end of a stalk. These whorls include: calyx, m ...

s are 4–6 mm diameter, yellowish-white, produced in late autumn or early winter in dense

umbel UMBEL (Upper Mapping and Binding Exchange Layer) is a logically organized knowledge graph of 34,000 concepts and entity types that can be used in information science for relating information from disparate sources to one another. It was retired ...

s; they are usually

sterile Sterile or sterility may refer to: *Asepsis, a state of being free from biological contaminants * Sterile (archaeology), a sediment deposit which contains no evidence of human activity *Sterilization (microbiology), any process that eliminates or ...

and do not produce any fruit. However, specimens have been reported which did produce not only flowers but also clusters of berries, one of which put forth shoots in the pot.

Taxonomy

It was first described as ''Aralia'' × ''lizei'' by Pierre Charles Marie Cochet in 1912. It was transferred to its own hybrid genus × ''Fatshedera'' as × ''Fatshedera lizei'' by

André Guillaumin André Louis Joseph Edmond Armand Guillaumin (21 June 1885 in Arrou – 29 May 1974 in Athis-Mons) was a French botanist. He obtained his license in biology in 1906 and began work in the ''Muséum national d'histoire naturelle'' in Paris in ...

in 1923. It is an artificial hybrid of ''

'' and ''

Hedera hibernica ''Hedera hibernica'', the Atlantic ivy or Irish ivy, is a species of ivy native to the Atlantic coast of Europe. Description It is an evergreen climbing plant, growing to 20–30 m high where suitable surfaces (trees, cliffs, walls) are availab ...

''.

Cultivation

It is grown both as a garden plant outdoors, and as a

houseplant A houseplant, also known as a pot plant, potted plant, or indoor plant, is an ornamental plant cultivated indoors. for aesthetic or practical purposes. These plants are commonly found in House, homes, Office, offices, and various indoor spaces, w ...

indoors, where its tolerance of shady conditions is valued. Inside it grows well in bright indirect light. Outdoors, it can tolerate winter temperatures down to −15 °C, but can also be grown successfully indoors with temperatures never falling below 20 °C. Several

cultivar A cultivar is a kind of Horticulture, cultivated plant that people have selected for desired phenotypic trait, traits and which retains those traits when Plant propagation, propagated. Methods used to propagate cultivars include division, root a ...

s have been selected, with dark green to variously white- or yellow-

variegated '' Cryptocarya williwilliana'' showing leaf venation and variegated leaves Variegation is the appearance of differently coloured zones in the foliage, flowers, and sometimes the stems and fruit of plants, granting a speckled, striped, or patch ...

leaves. × ''Fatshedera lizei'', together with the

s 'Annemieke' and 'Variegata' have gained the

Royal Horticultural Society The Royal Horticultural Society (RHS), founded in 1804 as the Horticultural Society of London, is the UK's leading gardening charity. The RHS promotes horticulture through its five gardens at Wisley (Surrey), Hyde Hall (Essex), Harlow Carr ...

Award of Garden Merit The Award of Garden Merit (AGM) is a long-established award for plants by the British Royal Horticultural Society (RHS). It is based on assessment of the plants' performance under UK growing conditions. It includes the full range of cultivated p ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Fatshedera Araliaceae Plant nothogenera Plants described in 1912 Monotypic Apiales genera