Fatsia japonica (Japanese Aralia)

Native to southern Korea and Japan, this evergreen shrub or small tree forms a rounded, spreading crown. Stout stems bear large, glossy, leathery leaves divided into broad, toothed lobes that radiate from a central point. In autumn, branching flower stalks carry rounded umbels of small, creamy white flowers. Green fruits follow and ripen to black in winter. Widely cultivated for its foliage, it has naturalized in New Zealand and is considered an environmental weed there. Photographed in Colombia.