Tetrapanax papyrifer (Cylindrical, white, light and soft)

Tetrapanax papyrifer (Flat and lustrous, silver-white outer ring, translucent hollow center)

Small Tetrapanax papyrifer (Botanical name: Meliosma oldhamii) (Becomes sticky when wet)

【Naming】

Tetrapanax papyrifer

【Source】

Classified as middle grade in the Shen Nong Ben Cao Jing (The Classic of Herbal Medicine)

【Common Usage Level】

C

【Botanical Origin】

The dried pith of Tetrapanax papyrifer (Hook.) Koch, belonging to the Araliaceae family.

【Characteristics】

It presents as a cylindrical shape, generally 3-6 cm long and 1.2-3 cm in diameter. It is pure white with shallow longitudinal grooves. It is light in weight, soft in texture, and elastic, making it easy to break.
Processed slices: They are cross-cut, with a hollow center of 0.5-1.5 cm in diameter or a white translucent film, and a silver-white outer ring. There are also longitudinally cut square-like thin slices, each side about 10 cm long and 0.5 mm thick, called square Tetrapanax papyrifer, or finely cut into slender shredded paper strips, about 3-5 mm wide, called Tetrapanax papyrifer shreds.

【Identification】

“The white Tetrapanax papyrifer is the best,” according to Ren Shu Bian Lan (Concise Handbook of Benevolent Techniques).
The best quality is dry, thick, soft, waxy, pure white, hollow, and elastic. Yellowish ones are considered second best.

【Identification Terminology】

1. Square Tetrapanax: These are large, paper-like thin slices made from thicker Tetrapanax papyrifer after harvesting, using a specially made plane or sharp blade, and then cut into squares.
2. Trimmed Tetrapanax shreds: Refers to the Tetrapanax papyrifer shreds that are trimmed off during the processing of “square Tetrapanax”.

【Category】

Vines and Woody Plants