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Araliaceae Habit: Perennial herb, shrub, tree, woody vine; juvenile, flower plants generally unlike. Stem: generally branched. Leaf: simple or compound, generally alternate; stipules +- fused to +- sheathing, petiole base or 0. Inflorescence: umbels 1 to panicled; bracts deciduous or not. Flower: generally bisexual, generally radial, generally < 5 mm; sepals generally 5, fused at base, inconspicuous, persistent; petals generally 5, free, +- white to green, deciduous; stamens generally 5, generally alternate petals; ovary inferior, chambers 1--15, 1-ovuled, styles as many as chambers, free or fused, persistent. Fruit: berry or drupe, occasionally flat, dry. Genera In Family: 47 genera, 1350 species: especially tropics, subtropics medicinal (e.g., Panax, ginseng; Aralia, sarsaparilla), ornamental (e.g., Aralia, Fatsia, Hedera, Polyscias). Jepson eFlora Author: Robert E. Preston & Elizabeth McClintock Reference: Plunkett et al. 2004 Pl Syst Evol 245:1--39 Scientific Editor: Douglas H. Goldman, Bruce G. Baldwin. Index of California Plant Names (ICPN; linked via the Jepson Online Interchange) Key to Araliaceae Previous taxon: Ilex aquifolium Next taxon: Aralia |