The Schefflera genus is placed in the family Araliaceae.

This tree has a rounded crown making it suitable for a bonsai, courtyard or gardens with limited space. In 2005 it was chosen as one of the South African trees of the year. Schefflera umbellifera is a semi-deciduous tree. The leaves are clustered at the ends of the branches. The leaves are compound, digitate (leaflets arranged like a hand), with 3-5 oblong leaflets, leathery, glossy dark green above, paler beneath. Small, pale yellow flowers are borne between January and May. The leaves are said to be used medicinally to treat a wide variety of ailments such as insanity, rheumatism, stomach ache, and malaria by various cultures through-out Southern Africa.