Plant in sun or shade in nearly any soil and water occasionally to regularly. Hardy and evergreen to at least to 18° F and in colder climates, where it is listed as root hardy to around 0° F, it can be frozen to the ground and sucker back up to regenerate rapidly. It is tolerant of salt laden winds and sandy soil so is useful in gardens near the ocean. Though it can travel around the garden, often popping up many feet from the existing plant, is not terribly pesty and it easy to remove when small. This interesting plant can lend a tropical flavor to the garden, but care should be taken about where it is planted as the hairs on leaf undersides can be an irritant to eyes or skin.

Tetrapanax papyrifer is monotypic (the only species in the genus) and comes from northern Taiwan and southern into central China, but has been widely cultivated in many parts of the world in tropical, subtropical and mediterranean climate regions. It was once included in the genus Fatsia as Fatsia papyrifera and Aralia as Aralia papyrifer and to this day is often listed as Tetrapanax papyriferus or with the species name spelled as "papyriferum", but "papyrifer" is now considered correct.

The name for the genus is from the Greek word 'tetra' meaning "four" and 'panax' a related Araliaceae genus name in reference to the flowers being in fours and its resemblance to genus Panax. The specific epithet, from a reference to the Egyptian Papyrus has to do with the pith of the center of the stem being used to make a substance commonly known as rice paper, but more properly is pith paper as it has nothing to do with rice and it is thought this common name likely came about because of a misunderstanding of early western explorers who were under the impression that the paper was made from rice straw. This material was also used to make artificial flowers. For more information about the species, see our listing for Tetrapanax papyrifer.

The cultivar 'Steroidal Giant' is a particularly large form of this species, which is a plant that already grows fairly large. It reportedly was sent in the 1970s by a gardener in Japan to Hawaii and then made its way to the long-revered horticulturist Ed Carman (1922-2002) at his Carman's Nursery in Los Gatos, California. Those who visited Ed at his nursery will remember the many rare plant jewels long growing in a pot that just needed a customer with a keen eye to purchase it and then plant it in the ground to fulfill its full potential. One such customer was plantsman Roger Warner who encountered this Tetrapanax at Carman's Nursery in the mid 1980s. Warner previously worked for Western Hills Rare Plant Nursery, the incredible nursery of Lester Hawkins and Marshall Olbrich in Occidental, California, but when he scored 'Steroidal Giant' he was designing Jane Davenport Jansen's garden, which would become Quarryhill Botanical Garden, later renamed Sonoma Botanical Garden in 2021. Warner initially thought the plant he got was a dwarf form of the species, but quickly realized it had been kept small in its pot and was anything but a dwarf. Warner dug a piece of the plant for Sean Hogan at Cistus Nursery in Oregon in 1997 and they introduced this plant more widely to the nursery trade. It was from Cistus Nursery that we got our stock plant in 2017. It is very similar, and perhaps the same, as a plant that circulates in Europe under the name Tetrapanax papyrifer 'Rex' and there is another very nice larger unnamed cultivar growing well at the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh that is accessioned there as Tetrapanax papyrifer RBGE# 20140206. 

The information about Tetrapanax papyrifer 'Steroidal Giant' displayed on this web page is based on our research conducted in the nursery's horticultural library and from reliable online resources. We also include observations made about it as it grows in our nursery gardens and other gardens we have visited, as well how the crops have performed in containers in our nursery field. We will also incorporate comments we receive from others and welcome hearing from anyone with additional information, particularly if they can share cultural information that would aid others in growing this plant.