It is native to eastern and central China and Taiwan,[1] but widely cultivated in East Asia and in other tropical[3] to mild temperate regions as well.

[7] 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[8]), with anywhere from 5-12 deeply incised palmate lobes, the central lobes being larger and Y-forked near the end.

The species is cultivated as an ornamental specimen plant, and has received the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit.

[4] The cultivar 'Rex' is a semi-evergreen shrub or tree with huge palmate leaves up to a metre diameter.