''Polyscias maraisiana'' is a species of

plant Plants are predominantly photosynthetic eukaryotes of the kingdom Plantae. Historically, the plant kingdom encompassed all living things that were not animals, and included algae and fungi; however, all current definitions of Plantae exclud ...

in the family

Araliaceae The Araliaceae are a family of flowering plants composed of about 43 genera and around 1500 species consisting of primarily woody plants and some herbaceous plants. The morphology of Araliaceae varies widely, but it is predominantly distinguisha ...

, formerly named ''Gastonia mauritiana''. It is

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found elsew ...

Mauritius Mauritius ( ; french: Maurice, link=no ; mfe, label=Mauritian Creole, Moris ), officially the Republic of Mauritius, is an island nation in the Indian Ocean about off the southeast coast of the African continent, east of Madagascar. It incl ...

, where it was formerly common on forest verges and also in coastal areas. It was formerly grown as an ornamental in Europe, partly on account of its strikingly heteroblastic leaves, however it is rarely found in international cultivation now. It is however beginning to be cultivated in its native country, as an ornamental landscaping plant - for gardens and public areas. It is named for the botanist

Wessel Marais Wessel Marais B.Sc., M.Sc. (1929-2013) was a South African botanist and plant collector. Wessel was born in Colesberg, Northern Cape Province, on 28 December 1929, the youngest of the ten children of Barend Pieter Marais, the last blacksmith an ...

. It is one of several ''

Polyscias ''Polyscias'' is a genus of flowering plants in the family Araliaceae. They bear pinnately compound leaves. In 2003, a checklist and nomenclator was published for Araliaceae.David G. Frodin and Rafaël Govaerts. 2003. ''World Checklist and Bibli ...

'' species which are

, including ''

Polyscias dichroostachya ''Polyscias dichroostachya'' is a species of plant in the family Araliaceae. It is endemic to Mauritius, where it used to be common in the forests of the south-west of the island. It can be distinguished from the other ''Polyscias ''Polyscias ...

'' (distinctive flower-spike and large, square leaf-segments), ''

Polyscias neraudiana ''Polyscias neraudiana'' is a species of plant in the family Araliaceae. It is endemic to Mauritius. It is threatened by habitat loss. It can be distinguished from the other ''Polyscias ''Polyscias'' is a genus of flowering plants in the fam ...

'' (red flowers on spike, and smaller, longer leaf-segments), ''

Polyscias gracilis ''Polyscias gracilis'' is a species of plant in the family Araliaceae. It is endemic to Mauritius Mauritius ( ; french: Maurice, link=no ; mfe, label=Mauritian Creole, Moris ), officially the Republic of Mauritius, is an island nation in ...

'', and ''

Polyscias paniculata ''Polyscias paniculata'' is a species of flowering plant in the family Araliaceae. It is endemic to Mauritius. It is threatened by habitat loss Habitat destruction (also termed habitat loss and habitat reduction) is the process by which a ...

''.Indigenous Plants of Mauritius List
/ref> Gastonia mauritiana - Bois Boeuf - Endangered tree of Mauritius 3.jpg, Young sapling File:Gastonia mauritiana canopy - Ile aux Aigrettes 1.jpg, Canopy of a large specimen on Ile aux Aigrettes, Mauritius

References

maraisiana Endemic flora of Mauritius Taxonomy articles created by Polbot Taxobox binomials not recognized by IUCN {{Araliaceae-stub