Japanese aralia (Fatsia japonica) is a species of flowering plant in the family Araliaceae, native to southern Japan and South Korea. It is an evergreen shrub growing to 3–6 m tall, with stout, sparsely branched stems. The leaves are large, 20–50 cm in width and on a petiole up to 50 cm long, with 7–9 broad lobes. The flowers are small, white, in late autumn or early winter, followed by small black fruit. The name "fatsi" is old Japanese word for 'eight', referring to the eight lobes. It is commonly grown as an ornamental plant in warm temperate regions where winters do not fall below about -15°C.