Tetrapanax papyrifer
Common Name:- Rice paper plant
Family: – Araliaceae
Vernacular Name:- Tago(nyishi)
General_information
Rice paper plant is a shrub or small tree growing upto 6 metres tall with a bole about 9cm in diameter. Plants are much cultivated in China for medicinal purposes and for the pith obtained from the stems, which is used to make ‘rice paper’. The plant is cultivated as an ornamental elsewhere in the South China.
It can be found in mixed forest or subtropical forest of some districts of Arunachal Pradesh. Leaves are broad & can be use to wrap food or other vegetables.
Medicinal_value
The pith is deobstruent, diuretic, febrifuge, galactagogue, sedative and vermifuge. It is used in Korea in the treatment of oedema. The pith has been employed in Chinese medicine for surgical dressings.
uses
The inner pith of the stems is used to make ‘rice paper’. It is also used for making toys and flowers, for surgical dressings and for painting on. The paper is made by cutting thin slivers from long sections of the pith.
Reference