Tetrapanax papyrifer, the rice paper plant (通草—tong cao), is an evergreen shrub or small tree in the family Araliaceae, the sole species in the genus Tetrapanax. The specific epithet is frequently misspelled as "papyriferum", "papyriferus", or "papyrifera". It is native to eastern and central China and Taiwan, to mild temperate regions as well.

The species was first described in the genus Aralia as Aralia papyrifera, and has also been treated in Fatsia as Fatsia papyrifera.

A second species, Tetrapanax tibetanus, is now regarded as a synonym of Merrilliopanax alpinus.

Description

Tetrapanax grows between 3–7 metres tall, with usually unbranched stems 2–9 cm in diameter, and bearing a rosette of large leaves atop the crown; the top of the plant can visually, albeit superficially, appear similar to a number of plants belonging to Arecaceae (the palm family). The leaves are carried on 40–60 cm petioles; the orbicular leaf blade measures from 50 to 75 cm across (to a metre across in some cultivars

Cultivars

The cultivar 'Rex' is a semi-evergreen shrub or tree with huge palmate leaves up to a metre diameter. Classified by the Royal Horticultural Society as H4, it is evergreen in mild locations, deciduous where temperatures fall below freezing, and herbaceous with more prolonged freezing. It prefers a sheltered position in full sun or partial shade.

<gallery mode=packed>

File:Tetrapanax papyrifer Jardin des Plantes.jpg |At the Jardin des plantes de Paris, France

File:Tetrapanax_papyrifer_Leaf.jpg|Leaf

File:Tetrapanax papyrifer4.jpg|Inflorescence

</gallery>

References

  • Chinese Botanical Paintings, Tetrapanax papyriferum (Hook.) Koch