6558

17: Fibre plants

Tetrapanax papyriferus (Hook.) K. Koch

Wochenschr. Gärtnerei Pflanzenk. 2: 371 (1859).

ARALIACEAE

2n = 48

Aralia papyrifera Hook. (1852), Fatsia papyrifera Benth. & Hook.f. ex F.B. Forbes & Hemsl. (1888).
Note: In the literature the following orthographic variants of the specific epithet can be found: papyrifer, papyrifera and papyriferum.

Ricepaper tree, ricepaper plant, Chinese ricepaper plant (En). Papier de riz, Aralie à papier (Fr). Indonesia: kayu kertas (general). Vietnam: th[oo]ng th[ar]o, th[oo]ng tho[as]t (m[ooj]c), s[aa]m gi[ar].

Tetrapanax papyriferus is native to Taiwan and perhaps southern China. In Taiwan and China it is cultivated as a source of ricepaper. It has been widely introduced elsewhere as an ornamental, especially in Asia, and is sometimes naturalized, e.g. in northern Vietnam. In some countries it has even become a troublesome weed. It is grown in the Cibodas Mountain Garden in West Java and it has naturalized in the surroundings.

The pith of Tetrapanax papyriferus yields ricepaper, which is used for making artificial flowers and as a surface for paintings. The use of ricepaper was first recorded by a Chinese author in 1634 and it was introduced into Europe in 1805. Throughout the history of its production most of the ricepaper produced has been used in the manufacture of artificial flowers, in China and Taiwan, as well as elsewhere, e.g. in the United States. It is very suitable for this purpose because it is easy to work, takes dye readily, and yields a product with a natural appearance. Ricepaper has been utilized in China as a surface for water colours since the early 19th Century, especially to portray Chinese products and Chinese life. In the second half of the 20th Century water colourings on ricepaper were often used in the preparation of Christmas cards. Nowadays ricepaper primarily serves for making artificial flowers and occasionally for greetings cards and paintings. Of several other uses recorded in the past, it is unclear whether they still exist. The Chinese employed the pith for surgical dressings and it has been imported into Malaysia for this purpose. In Taiwan ricepaper has been used as lens-paper and in the preparation of pictures for postcards, calenders, ornamental fans and menus. The scraps and trimmings have served locally for packing glassware and as a stuffing. Waste material has been used by children in the construction of animals, model buildings, etc.
In Vietnam the pith is administered as a galactagogue and in mixtures against bronchitis. In Chinese medicine it is used as a galactagogue and for cough and lung problems; it is considered a diuretic, deobstruent, sedative, febrifuge, anthelmintic, antidotal and laxative, and it is also prescribed against diabetes and leucorrhoea. Juice obtained by boiling the wood is considered a cure for uraemia and is used as a tonic after childbirth.
Tetrapanax papyriferus is widely grown as an ornamental in the tropics and subtropics. In cooler climates it is grown as a greenhouse crop.

In the 1960s most of the ricepaper prepared from Tetrapanax papyriferus in Taiwan was exported to the United States, where it was sold as 'wood fibre' and used for the preparation of artificial flowers. In the late 1990s ricepaper was no longer produced in Taiwan because of the high labour cost and some producers had moved to China.

The pith of young Tetrapanax papyriferus plants is snow-white, becoming creamy-coloured or brownish with age. It has a diameter up to 5 cm and attains its greatest diameter in the upper part of the main trunk. Fresh pith contains about 60% moisture. When dry it has a density of about 30 mg/cm³. Pith up to three years old is solid, after that diaphragm-like septations occur at the core. Top-quality ricepaper has a soft-velvety feel and appearance. When dry, ricepaper is somewhat brittle; when dampened, it can be folded and stretched somewhat; and when wet it can be formed into almost any shape which it will retain after drying. Ricepaper becomes increasingly brittle and fragile with age.
The leaves and roots of Tetrapanax papyriferus contain triterpenoid glycosides (papyriosides) and their aglycones (papyriogenins), several of which have shown anti-inflammatory and antihepatotoxic activity. Fresh leaves collected in Japan contained 0.014% essential oil, the major components being the sesquiterpenes ß-caryophyllene (10.5—14.2%), trans-ß-farnesene (7.0—8.0%), ß-selinene (7.1—7.4%), 'DELTA'-cadinene (4.1—5.0%) and trans-nerolidol (3.4—5.9%) and the monoterpenes a-pinene (4.9—13.3%), ß-pinene (4.2—10.1%) and 'ALFA'-terpineol (3.0—4.5%).

An evergreen, unarmed, suckering shrub or small tree, up to 7 m tall, with successive stems arising as underground branches, eventually forming a clump, young parts with a greyish loose floss. Stems usually unbranched, up to 10 cm in diameter, bark rough, pith up to 5 cm thick, white. Leaves simple but arranged palm-like at the top of the stems; sheath at the top passing into 2 long, acute stipules; petiole 40—70 cm long, white to red hairy; blade circular in outline, 30—80 cm in diameter, 5—12 palmatilobed (sometimes palmatifid), the central segments usually forming 2 secondary lobes, the lobes oblong to ovate, with serrate margins and acuminate apex, glabrous above (at least when fully developed) and densely brownish tomentose with stellate hairs below. Inflorescence terminal, paniculate (3 times compound), 40 cm or longer, woolly with white stellate hairs; primary branches 3—4, radiating, with basal bracts and bearing numerous secondary branches each subtended by a bract up to 2 cm long; secondary branches each with 10—15 many-flowered globular umbels about 12 mm in diameter on peduncles up to 12 mm long which are subtended by 12 mm long linear bracts. Flowers bisexual, yellow-green-white; pedicel 4 mm long, not articulated; calyx wholly fused with the ovary and reduced to an almost obsolete rim 1 mm tall on its top; petals 4—5, triangular, 2 mm long, tomentose outside, sometimes remaining together and falling as a calyptra; stamens 4—5 with 3 mm long filaments; disk slightly convex; pistil with 2-celled inferior ovary and 2 free filiform styles about 4 mm long, each with a terminal stigma. Fruit drupaceous, subglobose, 3—4 mm across, fleshy, 2-seeded. Seeds laterally compressed.

Tetrapanax papyriferus grows rapidly, increasing about 60—90 cm in height per year, until it reaches full stature in its fourth or fifth year. Many suckers develop at the base of the trunk, particularly after flowering. In West Java flowering specimens have never been found and here Tetrapanax papyriferus spreads exclusively by subterranean runners.

Tetrapanax K. Koch is a genus with only one species. Several cultivars have been described. The ornamental 'Variegata' has cream to white variegated leaves against a background of bright to dark green.

In Taiwan Tetrapanax papyriferus occurs naturally in thickets at 300—2000 m altitude, where the climate is warm-temperate to subtropical. The rainfall is abundant but very unevenly distributed, with the period of maximum rainfall coinciding with the warmer months, when moisture requirements are highest. In Java naturalized Tetrapanax papyriferus is found in brushwood at about 1400 m altitude. Attempts to grow the plant in Singapore had limited success. When subjected to a light frost Tetrapanax papyriferus may lose its leaves but survive; it is not winter hardy in temperate regions, however. Tetrapanax papyriferus can grow on clay or gravelly soil but it prefers loams with a high organic matter content.

In Taiwan Tetrapanax papyriferus can be propagated by seed, but the germination percentage is low and vegetative propagation with suckers is more convenient. They are separated when about 30 cm tall and transplanted into the field.

To harvest the pith, Tetrapanax papyriferus is cut down when the main stems are 2—3 years old and 1.5—2 m tall, and the leaves and small twigs are removed. The stems may be soaked in running water for several days to loosen the pith and make its removal easy, but this is not always done. The main stems and larger branches are cut into pieces of 30—45 cm length. A round wooden or bamboo plug about the size of the pith diameter is then inserted in one end of the stem and driven against the ground or a solid object to force out the pith.

Newly harvested pith of Tetrapanax papyriferus must be dried promptly to prevent staining and loss of lustre. This is done by exposing it to the sun for several days. In Taiwan the pith is placed in a hollow section of a bamboo culm to dry straight, and several small pieces may be placed in one culm to force them together during drying. The best grade pith is of medium to large diameter, with small interior cavities, a thin, smooth and bright surface, light weight and pure white interior.
In traditional preparation of ricepaper for the manufacture of artificial flowers, the pith is divided into 7.5 cm long pieces. These are carefully unrolled with a sharp knife on a slicing board, normally made of brick, resulting in thin, narrow ribbons which are later cut into sheets of about 7.5 cm x 7.5 cm. In unrolling it is crucial to apply even pressure on the pith to achieve an even thickness of the ribbons. Thicker ricepaper is used as a surface for paintings and thinner paper for artificial flowers. Sometimes larger sheets of ricepaper to be used for water-colour paintings are made from longer pith segments, most commonly 11—18 cm long. The paper is separated into two or three grades, with first grade sheets being pure white and without any perforation. Sheets that are not pure white, have brown spots or have a few small perforations are considered second grade, whereas those with large or more perforations or irregular edges are third grade. First-grade paper is exported, whereas lower grades may be used locally for making artificial flowers. Nowadays most ricepaper is made by machine, though some manual production still occurs in China.

No germplasm collections or breeding programmes of Tetrapanax papyriferus are known to exist.

Tetrapanax papyriferus is easy to grow and has some prospects as a source of ricepaper for niche markets and as a medicinal plant. However, in South-East Asia it can only be cultivated in cooler climates at higher altitudes, and it is doubtful whether South-East ricepaper production can compete with Chinese production in the international market.

Backer, C.A. & Bakhuizen van den Brink Jr, R.C., 1965. Flora of Java. Vol. 2. P. Noordhoff, Groningen, the Netherlands. p. 163.
Fei Wen Tsai, 1999. Historical background of tetrapanax pith paper artifacts. ICOM (International Council of Museums) Ethnographic Conservation Newsletter. No 19. 4 pp.
Frodin, D.G., 1996. Araliaceae. In: Dassanayake, M.D. & Clayton, W.D. (Editors): A revised handbook to the flora of Ceylon. Vol. 10. A.A. Balkema, Rotterdam, the Netherlands. pp. 5—6.
Hikino, H., Kiso, Y., Amagaya, S. & Ogihara, Y., 1984. Antihepatotoxic actions of papyriogenins and papyriosides, triterpenoids of Tetrapanax papyriferum leaves. Journal of Ethnopharmacology 12(2): 231—235.
Ohashi, H., 1993. Araliaceae. In: Editorial Committee of the Flora of Taiwan: Flora of Taiwan. 2nd Edition. Vol. 3. Taipei, Taiwan. pp. 1006—1009.
Perdue Jr, R.E & Kraebel, C.J., 1961. The rice-paper plant — Tetrapanax papyriferum (Hook.) Koch. Economic Botany 15: 165—179.
Sugishita, E., Amagaya, S. & Ogihara, Y., 1982. Structure-activity studies of some oleanane triterpenoid glycosides and their related compounds from leaves of Tetrapanax papyriferum on anti-inflammatory activities. Journal of Pharmacobiodynamics 5(6): 379—387.

U.A. Dasuki

Dasuki, U.A., 2003. Tetrapanax papyriferus (Hook.) K. Koch. In: Brink, M and Escobin, R.P. (Editors): Plant Resources of South-East Asia No 17: Fibre plants. PROSEA Foundation, Bogor, Indonesia. Database record: prota4u.org/prosea