Japanese Fatsia

Japanese fatsia (Fatsia japonica, Araliaceae) is a broadleaf evergreen shrub from Japan and Korea, reaching 6 to 8 feet (up to 16 feet in native habitat). Large palmate leaves (15 to 35 centimeters across) with 7 to 9 serrate lobes are glossy dark green. White flowers appear in large terminal clusters (umbels, 4 centimeters) in late fall, an unusual bloom time, followed by black drupes (8 millimeters).

Japanese fatsia grows in full shade to part shade on moist, acid soils high in organic matter, tolerating sandy and clay substrates, hardy in Zones 7 to 8. It tolerates heavy shade, salt spray, and pollution. Cold injury is the primary documented disease concern. Cultivars include 'Spider's Web' (speckled variegation, 7 feet) and 'Variegata' (white-variegated leaves, 6 to 8 feet).