Observations on the “rice paper tree" (Tetrapanax papyriferum) now naturalised in Sydney, N. S. Wales

Abstract

The tree which produces the pith which is manufactured into that delicate material known as "Rice Paper," belongs to the Araliaceae, or ivy worts, and is the Tetrapanax papyriferum, or Aralia papyrifera of botanists. It is a native of the island of Formosa, and was supposed to be procured only from the northern part of the island, but it has recently been ascertained that it is found wild, and is also cultivated abundantly in different parts of the island, where it grows on the hills.