Rice paper plant
Tetrapanax papyrifer
Traditional Chinese rice paper contains no rice; it is made by peeling and thinly slicing the water-absorbent inner pith of this plant's woody stems.
- Scientific name
- Tetrapanax papyrifer
- Taxonomy
- Plantae › Tracheophyta › Magnoliopsida › Apiales › Araliaceae › Tetrapanax
- IUCN Red List status
- Least Concern
- Population trend
- stable
- Biome
- forest
- Habitat
- Subtropical forest margins, ravines, thickets, and disturbed secondary woodlands.
- Diet
- Autotroph
- Range
- Taiwan, Southern China, Japan, Southern United States, Mediterranean Basin
- Size
- 3–7 m tall, with leaves 50–100 cm across
- Lifespan
- 20–50 yr
- Active
- diurnal
- Threats
- Habitat clearance in parts of its native range, though cultivated widely and considered an invasive weed in several non-native regions.
- Safe to approach?
- Harmless to approach, but physical contact should be avoided. The fine stellate hairs coating the foliage easily detach into airborne dust that causes intense coughing fits, eye irritation, and skin rashes. Wear gloves and a mask if trimming or handling. If hairs contact skin or eyes, wash thoroughly with cool water; move to fresh air if irritated by airborne particles.
Tetrapanax papyrifer ( rice-paper plant , or 通草—tong cao ) is an evergreen shrub in the family Araliaceae, the sole species in the genus Tetrapanax . The specific epithet is frequently misspelled as "papyriferum", "papyriferus", or "papyrifera". It is endemic to Taiwan, but widely cultivated in East Asia and sometimes in other tropical regions as well. The species was once included in the genus Fatsia as Fatsia papyrifera .
Photo: chiuluan, CC-BY, via iNaturalist
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