Plant in coastal full sun, filtered light or part day sun and irrigate regularly to occasionally. Established plants are surprisingly drought resistant considering this plant's tropical origins but it grows best with at least occasional irrigation. It is cold hardy to 25-30° F.

Trevesia palmata is indigenous to northern India, southern China, Vietnam, and Thailand. In its native habitat this plant can be found growing to 30 feet tall but likely no more than 20 feet in cultivation and more often it is grown as a large shrub. The most attractive aspect of this plant is its 2 to 2 1/2 foot wide, rounded in outline, leaves of a type called pseudocompound, meaning that they look compound but actually are not. The lobes (false leaflets) are attached to a rounded plate-like area at the base of the leaf that attaches to the 2- to 3-foot-long prickly petioles. These lobes themselves are so intricately and deeply lobed themselves that they individually look like pinnately compound leaves.

The genus Trevesia was described by the Italian botanist Roberto de Visiani (1800-1878) in 1840 to honor the family Treves of the Bonfili of Padua, who were great supporters of botanical research. The specific epithet was actually from a name described earlier by the Scottish botanist William Roxburgh (1751-1815) who had described this plant as Gastonia palmata and its specific name transferred with it to Trevesia in 1842 when Visiani segregated Gastonia. This specific epithet is in reference to the leaves being palmately lobed. We also grow the selection Trevesia palmata 'Micholitzii' which has newly emerging leaves that retain white downy hairs then become glossy. Both plants are interesting and attractive in the garden and though tolerate relatively dry conditions, lend a tropical feel. We have grown this plant since 2007 from seed collected from local Santa Barbara plants with most recent collections made from mature plants that we originally supplied to the Eric Nagelmann designed Tropical Garden at Seaside Gardens in Carpinteria. 

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