COMMON NAME
fivefinger, five finger, whauwhaupaku
SYNONYMS
Panax arboreus Murray, Panax arboreus Murray var. arboreus, Neopanax arboreus (Murray) Philipson var. arboreus, Pseudopanax arboreus (Murray) Philipson
FAMILY
Araliaceae
AUTHORITY
Pseudopanax arboreus (L.f.) Allan
FLORA CATEGORY
Vascular – Native
CHROMOSOME NUMBER
2n = 48
BRIEF DESCRIPTION
Small bushy tree with glossy green fleshy toothed leaves arranged in fans of 5 (occ. up to 7) leaflets. Fruit purple, in obvious clusters
DISTRIBUTION
Endemic. Widespread (though rare in Central Otago). North and South Islands
HABITAT
Coastal to montane (10-750 m a.s.l.). Moist broadleaf forest. Frequently epiphytic. A frequent component of secondary forest. Streamsides and forest margins.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
Us. Dioecious. Small multi-branched tree to 8 m tall, branches and branchlets brittle. Leaves alternate, leaflets 5-7 (us. 5), palmate. Petioles c. 15-20 cm long, sheathing branchlet at base. Petiolules c. 3-5 cm long, pale green. Leaflets obovate-oblong to oblong-cuneate, thinly coriaceous, coarsely serrate-dentate, acute or acuminate to obtuse; midveins and main lateral veins obvious above and below; teminal lamina 10-20 x 4-7 cm. Inflorescence and panicle, terminal, compound; flowers usually unisexual; 8-20 primary rays (branchlets), up to 10 cm long; 15-20 secondary rays; umbellules with 10-15 flowers in each. Calyx truncate or obscurely 5-toothed; flowers c. 5 mm diam., sweet-scented; petals 5, white to pink flushed, ovate to triangular, acute; stamens 5, obvious, filaments c. = petals; ovary 2-loculed, each containing 1(-2) ovules; style branches 2, spreading. Fruit fleshy, 5-8 mm diam., style branches retained on an apical disc, very dark purple, laterally compressed. Seeds 2(-3) per fruit, wrinkled, 3-6 mm long.
FLOWERING
June to August
FLOWER COLOURS
Red/Pink, White
FRUITING
August to February
ETYMOLOGY
pseudopanax: False cure
arboreus: From the Latin arbor ‘tree’, meaning tree-like
