Araliaceae
Robert Bierman
1a. Leaves simple ... 2
2a. Plants an herbaceous perennial with floating or creeping stems ... Hydrocotyle
2b. Plants a broadleaf deciduous tree ... Kalopanax
1b. Leaves compound ... 3
3a. Leaves pinnately or ternately decompound; umbels compound ... Aralia
3b. Leaves palmately compound; umbels simple ... Panax
A family primarily of trees and shrubs that occur in the tropics and subtropics, with some herbaceous perennials occurring in temperate regions. Our native Araliaceae fall under the latter category, while our one non-native species is a small tree (Kalopanax). Hydrocotyle, formerly of Apiaceae, was transferred to Araliaceae based on molecular phylogenetic studies (Lowry et al., 2004, Plunkett et al., 2004).
