Japanese Aralia

It is an evergreen shrub that grows up to 1–3 m in height, with sturdy, sparsely branched stems. The leaves are spirally arranged, large, 20–40 cm wide and on a stalk up to 50 cm long, leathery, palmately lobed, with 7-9 wide lobes, divided halfway or two-thirds down the leaf; the lobes are bordered by coarse, blunt teeth. The flowers are small, white, borne in dense terminal umbels in late autumn or early winter, followed by small black fruits in spring.