Polyscias pinnata — Edible Plant Database

What to Eat

Edible parts: Leaves

The young leaves are eaten as a vegetable.

Where to Find It

A tropical plant. It can tolerate salt spray. It is best in a moist well-drained soil. It suits hardiness zones 10-12.

Asia, Chuuk, Dominican Republic, FSM, Guam, Haiti, India, Indonesia, North America, Pacific*, Papua New Guinea, PNG, Puerto Rico, SE Asia, USA, Vanuatu, West Indies,

Countries: United Arab Emirates, Afghanistan, Antigua & Barbuda, Armenia, Australia, Azerbaijan, Barbados, Bangladesh, Bahrain, Brunei, Bahamas, Bhutan, Belize, Canada, China, Costa Rica, Cuba, Dominica, Dominican Republic, Fiji, Micronesia, Grenada, Georgia, Guatemala, Honduras, Haiti, Indonesia, Israel, India, Iraq, Iran, Jamaica, Jordan, Japan, Kyrgyzstan, Cambodia, Kiribati, St Kitts & Nevis, North Korea, South Korea, Kuwait, Kazakhstan, Laos, Lebanon, St Lucia, Sri Lanka, Marshall Islands, Myanmar, Mongolia, Maldives, Mexico, Malaysia, Nicaragua, Nepal, Nauru, New Zealand, Oman, Panama, Papua New Guinea, Philippines, Pakistan, Puerto Rico, Palau, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Solomon Islands, Singapore, El Salvador, Syria, Thailand, Tajikistan, Timor-Leste, Turkmenistan, Tonga, Turkey, Trinidad & Tobago, Tuvalu, Taiwan, United States, Uzbekistan, St Vincent, Vietnam, Vanuatu, Samoa, Yemen

How to Identify

A shrub. It grows 2-3 m tall and spreads up to 1 m wide. The leaves are alternate and they have 3 leaflets. There are teeth along the edge. The leaf blade is 10-20 cm long. The flowers are white.

How to Grow

Plants can be grown by seed, cuttings or air-layering. It can be planted as a hedge.

Other Information

It is a cultivated plant.

Notes

There are about 100 Polyscias species.

Names & Synonyms

Aralia polyscias Spreng. ex Seem.Panax forsteri Decne. & Planch.Panax manguette Vieill.Panax pinnatus (J. R. Forst. & G. Forst.) Baill. [Illegitimate]Polyscias umbellata Spreng.

References (9)

Ambasta, S.P. (Ed.), 2000, The Useful Plants of India. CSIR India. p 482
Andarwulan, N., et al, 2010, Flavonoid content and antioxidant activity of vegetables from Indonesia. Food Chemistry 121: 1231-1235
Arora, R. K., 2014, Diversity in Underutilized Plant Species - An Asia-Pacific Perspective. Bioversity International. p 43, 105 (As Nothopanax pinnatum)
Barrau, J., 1976, Subsistence Agriculture in Melanesia. Bernice P. Bishop Museu, Bulletin 219 Honolulu Hawaii. Kraus reprint. p 58
Martin, F.W. & Ruberte, R.M., 1979, Edible Leaves of the Tropics. Antillian College Press, Mayaguez, Puerto Rico. p 177
Massal, E. and Barrau, J., 1973, Food Plants of the South Sea Islands. SPC Technical Paper No 94. Noumea, New Caledonia. p 35
Plants of Haiti Smithsonian Institute http://botany.si.edu
Stone, B.,
Terra, G.J.A., 1973, Tropical Vegetables. Communication 54e Royal Tropical Institute, Amsterdam, p 63