Tetrapanax papyrifer

An evergreen shrub reaching 5 m tall with 5 m spread, growing at a fast rate. Hardy to UK zone 8 but frost tender. Year-round foliage; flowers in August with seeds ripening October to December. Hermaphroditic, bee-pollinated. Tolerates light sandy, medium loamy, and heavy clay soils at mildly acid to mildly alkaline pH. Grows in semi-shade or full light and prefers moist soil.

Description

A small tree up to 3-6 m tall. It spreads 4.5 m wide. It has stolons or runners. It has a dense woolly or hairy covering. The leaf blade is almost round and with 7-12 lobes. This extend about halfway to the centre. The leaves are 15-30 cm long and densely hairy underneath. The lobes taper. The leafy structures or stipules are 5-12 cm long. They join to the base of the leaf stalk. The male flowers are on stalks 3-5 mm long. These are 6-8 mm long in female flower heads. The petals are triangle shaped and 2 mm long. The fruit is round and flattened. It is about 2 mm long. It is purplish-black.

Edible Uses

The inner pith of the stems is used to make 'rice paper'. Rice paper can be used to wrap foods, and can be eaten with the food. Root. No more details are given.

Traditional Uses

The pith of the plant is used to produce rice paper.

This uses section is brief — help expand it

Medicinal Uses

The pith is deobstruent, diuretic, febrifuge, galactagogue, sedative, and vermifuge. In Korea it is used in the treatment of oedema.

Distribution

It is a warm temperate and subtropical plant. It grows between 100 and 2,800 m altitude in China. It grows best in damp sites. It suits hardiness zones 8-11. In Brisbane Botanical Gardens. In Sichuan and Yunnan.

Where It Grows

Asia, Australia, China, Hawaii, India, Korea, Norfolk Island, Pacific, St Helena, Taiwan*, USA,

Cultivation

Tetrapanax papyrifer is a plant of mainly subtropical areas, it is cultivated as an ornamental in the tropics. Plants can tolerate temperatures down to about -5°c. They are often cut back to ground level in cold winters but will normally regrow from the rootstock in the spring. Succeeds in any fertile soil and in most situations. Prefers a moist but well-drained humus-rich soil in full sun or semi-shade. The plant requires a sheltered position in order to prevent damage to its large leaves. A very ornamental plant.

Propagation

Sow seed in autumn in a greenhouse, then prick out seedlings into individual pots when large enough to handle and grow on for at least their first year under glass. Plant out in late spring or early summer after the last expected frosts, and consider providing winter protection for the first few years outdoors. Suckers can be divided in early spring, though they can be difficult to establish. It is best to pot up divisions and grow them on in light shade in a greenhouse until well established, overwintering them under glass and planting out the following late spring or early summer after the last expected frosts.

Other Uses

The inner pith of the stems is used to make 'rice paper', as well as for crafting toys and flowers, for surgical dressings, and as a surface for painting. The paper is produced by cutting thin slivers from long sections of the pith.

Notes

There is only one Tetrapanax species. A form of rice paper is made from the pith of the stem.

Synonyms

References (15)

• Ambasta, S.P. (Ed.), 2000, The Useful Plants of India. CSIR India. p 631
• Arora, R. K., 2014, Diversity in Underutilized Plant Species - An Asia-Pacific Perspective. Bioversity International. p 109
• Cundall, P., (ed.), 2004, Gardening Australia: flora: the gardener's bible. ABC Books. p 1407
• Flora of Australia Volume 49, Oceanic Islands 1, Australian Government Publishing Service, Canberra. (1994) p 265
• Heywood, V.H., Brummitt, R.K., Culham, A., and Seberg, O. 2007, Flowering Plant Families of the World. Royal Botanical Gardens, Kew. p 44

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