Sciadodendron Excelsum

Sciadodendron excelsum Griseb. Bonplandia 6:7. 1858
Rtynoldaia americana Donn. Smith, Bot. Gaz. 49: 455. 1910.
Shrub or tree, up to 20 m. high, the trunk straight, up to 60 cm. in diameter, the bark corky, the branches few, the foliage and inflorescences forming an apical crown, the flowers usually maturing after the leaves have fallen; leaves up to 2 m. long, the petiole up to 60 cm. long, stout (up to 1 cm. in diameter), the leaflets thin, ovate to elliptic, 5-8 (rarely to 15 when juvenile) cm. long, 2-4.5 (rarely to 7) cm. broad, acute to truncate at the base, long-acuminate at the apex, mucronate-serrulate, the petiolules up to 7 mm. long (those of the apical leaflet longer), the principal veins somewhat raised on both surfaces, the lateral veins few, arcuateascending, the veinlets copiously reticulate; inflorescences with the secondary rachises 2-8 cm. long, the peduncles 4-10 cm. long, each subtended by a few subcoriaceous ovate-orbicular bracts up to 5 mm. long, the bractlets subcoriaceous, minute, ovate; pedicels 15-25 per umbel, 4-10 mm. long; calyx at anthesis about 2 mm. long and 3-4 mm. in diameter; petals thincarnose, white, oblong, about 4 mm. long and 1.5 mm. broad, sharply inflexed at the apex; filaments carnose, 3-4 mm. long, tapering distally, the anthers oblong, 2-3 mm. long, less than 1 mm. broad, obtuse at both ends; fruit 6-7 mm. in diameter, the apex flattened, the short calyx-limb and stylar column persistent.
Type locality: Panama.
Distribution: Southeastern Guatemala, El Salvador, Nicaragua, and southward; also in Haiti and northern Colombia; at low elevations.

Aralia excelsa is a species of flowering plant in the family Araliaceae. It is native to Mexico, Central America, northern South America and parts of the Caribbean.

This species is a shrub or tree up to 20 meters tall with tripinnate leaves and umbels of flowers.