Considering that true rice paper, that is, paper made from rice straw (Oryza sativa), was recognized in the English literature nearly 150 years before the above product acquired its rice paper name, when Mathias Koops reported that 'All paper made in the province of Che-Kyang is manufactured from the straw of rice and other grain.'2 However, it was not until over 80 years later that an English language dictionary entered as a definition of rice paper, 'paper being made from the straw of rice.'3 By then it was too late." "Too late?" "Yes, Watson, because by then the only definition in English language dictionaries of rice paper was for a paper-like substance obtained from the pith of a plant in Formosa.4 According to Hooker,5 the first occurrence of this rice paper in Europe was in 1805, when a Dr. Livingston transported it from Formosa to England. This Dr. Livingston delivered the "paper" to a Miss Jane Jack, of Edinburgh, who used it to make a bouquet for the young Princess Charlotte of Wales. Brewster stated that Miss Jack's brother told her that the rice paper was a membrane of the bread fruit tree, the Artocarpus incisifolia [now Artocarpus communis, family Moraceae] of naturalists.6 As you well know, Watson, the procurement of the breadfruit tree was the reason Captain Bligh was sent to the Friendly Islands..." "...and one of the causes of the Bounty mutiny." "Quite right, Watson. Brewster also provides what may well be the first attested use in English of the term rice paper: The substance commonly known by the name of Rice Paper is brought from China in small pieces, about two inches square, and tinged with various colours. It has been for some time used as an excellent substitute for drawing paper, in the representation of richly coloured insects, and other objects of natural history, and has been employed in this city [Edinburgh] with still more success in the manufacture of artificial flowers. "If this is indeed the first use of the term, we might ask why it was applied to a non-paper pith substance. Perdue and Kraebel have theorized that 'it probably arose through the early western explorers of the Orient; rice paper was believed by laymen to have been prepared from rice straw. Early botanists who examined the product were readily aware that it was not produced from a grass but could offer little more than an indication that it came from a dicotyledon.'" "The breadfruit tree membrane story must have been soon challenged, Holmes." "Yes, Watson, it was. General Harwicke outlined in Hooker, 'You will find a drawing of the species which produces it in my volumes of Indian plants, among the Papilionaceae; it is the AEschynomene paludosa of Roxburgh. It grows abundantly in the marshy plains of Bengal, and on the borders of Jeels or extensive lakes, in every province between Calcutta and Hurdwar.' Today it is known that Harwicke's rice paper was made from the pith of the sola plant of India, Aeschynomene aspera (family Leguminosae), also known as the Indian rice-paper plant, the source of Indian rice paper. "Speculation continued regarding the true source of Livingston's rice paper. For example, Murray et al. recorded that 'Several malvaceous plants [family Malvaceae] ... are of great economical importance to the Chinese ... the best rice-paper is also believed to be the produce of one of this tribe.' Tiffany penned that 'In every artist's studio are to be found the paintings on what is called rice paper, though it is really made from the bamboo [Bambusa vulgaris (?), family Poaceae].' Balfour related 'Some say that a species of Desmanthus [family Leguminosae] is the source of the cellular substance called Rice-paper.' And Lindley 'expressed an opinion, from the imperfect specimen he had seen, that it was either Umbelliferous [family Umbelliferae] or Araliaceous [family Araliaceae].' "When did all this speculation end, Holmes?" "About that time, Watson, when Mr. J. H. Layton, British Counsul at Amoy, began efforts to acquire the plant to send for identification to the Royal Botanic Gardens at Kew. But as Sir William Jackson Hooker, director of the gardens, put it, 'Mr. Layton was unfortunately removed by death from his counsulship of Amoy' and his wife took over trying to obtain the live plant. It was not easy as Mrs. Layton (in Hooker) has revealed to us: 'Great danger and risk attend the men who go into the forests to procure the stems, where the aborigines come suddenly upon them and take away their lives: so that it is customary to have a guard of soldiers on the occasion. 'At one time it seemed quite certain that my efforts to procure a plant would have been supported by all the mandarin force on that part of the island, for the late brave old Chinese admiral at Amoy took the matter in hand for me, and sent orders for one to be obtained, and sent back in one of the imperial junks employed to take troops to Formosa; but before it could reach me he was dead. 'I did not, myself, bring home with me the dead and withered specimen you received, for it did not reach Amoy in time; but I had arranged with a friend to take charge of it, who unfortunately forwarded it to me by way of the Cape instead of sending it overland; for, indeed, it had already been several months in the case in China. 'One of the two Chinamen, whom I had long before sent over in a junk for the purpose, returned with a small root when I was too ill to take care of it; but it had several green leaves when I took it with me on board ship for England, and this was I think entirely killed by the brown ants. 'The man who obtained this, assured me that the "large tree" he procured had died while he waited for a junk, and then after putting out to sea, and being driven back by pirates, he threw the plant overboard, reserving a portion of the stem and some leaves, which I have now in my possession. 'The second messenger returned soon after my departure, bringing a fine strong plant, thriving beautifully when it was put on board the ship Bentinck, but which died on its passage, and reached your hands without any signs of life.'" "A most persistent lady, Holmes." "Yes, Watson. From the valiant efforts of Mrs. Layton to bring a plant to England and Kew, Hooker finally identified the source of Livingston's rice paper, certifying it was from the pith of Aralia papyrifera, as named by Sir William. Although Livingston's rice paper was now proven to be made neither from rice or paper, it continued to be called rice paper, or Chinese rice paper. "While all this was transpiring, though, Lewis communicated that Chinese rice paper was produced from the pith of Scaevola taccada (now Scaevola koenigii, family Goodeniaceae). Hooker immediately disagreed. However, this plant, known as taccada, also became known as the Malayan rice-paper plant, source of Malayan rice paper. "Taccada is the fanflower, if I recall correctly, Holmes." "That's right, Watson. A little more than fifteen years after the work of Hooker, Hereman confused a plant native to Japan, Aralia japonica (family Araliaceae), with Aralia papyrifera and said that it was the source of Livingston's rice paper. This mistake has been repeated even to this day. "As we near the 21st century, there is but a small number, seemingly ever diminishing, of artisans producing Chinese rice papers. If either Indian or Malayan rice papers are still being made, I do not know of it. "Today, the genus name of the Chinese rice-paper plant is Tetrapanax instead of Aralia." "Of that I am aware, Holmes. But what of the species name? I have seen it often, but there seems to be no consistency in its spelling." "You are most observant, Watson. There are four possible gender endings for the species name of Tetrapanax, and all four have been and are still being used in the literature: papyrifer (m), papyrifera (f), papyriferum (n), and papyriferus (m). However, only two of these are correct if one follows the current International Code of Botanical Nomenclature, in which Article 76.2(a) declares 'Modern compounds ending in ...-panax... are masculine, irrespective of the fact that [some] generic names... were originally treated as neuters by their authors.' Of the two masculine forms, I have chosen papyrifer [first two syllables as in papyrus], following the model of aquifer, conifer, and Lucifer." "Logical, Holmes. Are we done yet? Our tea is getting cold." "Watson, there are many more examples of things being incorrectly called rice paper, perhaps a score. Because our tea is getting cold, I will mention just two. The term rice paper for handmade Japanese paper (washi) dates at least back to the beginning of the twentieth century when Hitchcock conveyed 'Contrary to the usual supposition, rice paper is not made from rice, but from Paper Mulberry [three species of Broussonetia].' It took a while but unfortunately the expression eventually caught on to the point where both the educated and uneducated use it to the nth degree when discussing washi. "By the 1960s the terms Japanese paper and rice paper were clearly synonymous. Thus Nakane was absolutely accurate when she said 'So called rice paper is made from fibers of plants called kozo, gampi, mitsumata, and asa.' "Finally, one can find in both Oriental and occidental groceries, in the United States, England, and elsewhere, a pastry product used to make the outer wrapping of spring rolls; this wrapping is composed of rice flour and water. Depending on the packaging it is known as springroll skin, rice pancake, rice sheet, or rice paper." "Remarkable, Holmes." "Now, you may have noticed a pattern developing for all of this, Watson. Let us make a four-square grid. The things called rice paper we have discussed this afternoon, when taken as a whole, fill all the possible categories things called rice paper can be. The first, in category one, being made of rice straw and being true paper is, of course, true rice paper." "Yes, that is correct, Holmes." "The second, in category two, not being made of rice and being true paper is washi, Japanese handmade paper." "Yes, that too is correct." "The third category is being made of rice grain and not being true paper and that is demonstrated by..." "... the springroll skin." "Correct, Watson. And the fourth and final category is not being made of rice and not being true paper. That would include the edible macaroon wafer as well as the pith sheet of ..." "Dr. Livingston, I presume." "You presume correctly, Watson. Now, if I had my way only the item in category one would be called rice paper. The items in category two would be called only Japanese paper: kozo or paper mulberry, gampi, mitsumata, or asa when referring to the individual papers. The item in category three would be called only springroll skin, rice pancake, or rice sheet, and not rice paper. The items in category four would be called potato wafer and pith sheet, respectively. But I don't have my way and I'm afraid we'll have to put up with all this misnaming for some time to come. Anyway, I'm getting hungry again. I hope I haven't bored you with this escapade." "No, of course not; to the contrary, your rice paper caper has been most delightful. Once again, you have enlightened me. Would you care for a macaroon with potato wafer, Holmes?" "Why yes, Watson, thank you. Crumpets?"       1. Albert Reginald Daniel, The Baker's Dictionary, (London: Maclaren, 1949). 2. Mathias Koops, Historical Account of Substances (London: Mathias Koops, 1800), 326. 3. John Ogilvie and Charles Annandale, eds., The Imperial Dictionary of the English Language (London: Blackie and Son, Limited, 1883), 707. 4. References begin with Chauncey Allen Goodrich and Noah Porter, eds., [Noah Webster's] An American Dictionary of the English Language (Springfield, Massachusetts: G. & C. Merriam Company, 1868), 1138. 5. William Jackson Hooker, "Some Account of the Substance Commonly Known Under the Name Rice Paper," Botanical Miscellany 1 (1830): 88. 6. David Brewster, "On the Structure of Rice Paper," The Edinburgh Journal of Science 2 (1825): 136. . Ibid.: 135. . Robert Edward Perdue, Jr. and Charles John Kraebel, "The Rice Paper Plant--Tetrapanax papyriferum (Hook.), Koch," Economic Botany 25 (1961): 165. . Hooker: 90. . Hugh Murray et al. An Historical and Descriptive Account of China, Volume III (Edinburgh and London: Oliver and Boyd, 1836), 366. . Osmond Tiffany, Jr., The Canton Chinese, or the American's Sojourn in the Celestial Empire (Boston and Cambridge: James Munroe and Company, 1849), 84. . John Hutton Balfour, A Manual of Botany (London: J. J. Griffin; Glasgow: R. Griffin, 1849), 852. . Wiliam Jackson Hooker, "On the Chinese Rice Paper," Hooker's Journal of Botany and Kew Garden Miscellany 4 (1852): 53. . Ibid.: 50. . Ibid.: 51-52. . Ibid.: 53. . W. T. Lewis, "On the Plant Yielding the Rice-paper of China", Journal of the Agricultural and Horticultural Society of India 2 (1852): 65. . William Jackson Hooker, "Rice-paper of China," Hooker's Journal of Botany and Kew Garden Miscellany 4 (1852): 348. . Samuel Hereman, Paxton's Botanical Dictionary (London: Bradbury, Agnew, and Company, 1868), 484. . See, for instance, Vernon Hilton Heywood and Stuart R. Chant, eds., Popular Encyclopedia of Plants (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1982), 135. . Werner Greuter et al., International Code of Botanical Nomenclature (Konigsten: Koeltz Scientific Books, 1988), 78. . Albert Spear Hitchcock, "Oryza," in Liberty Hyde Bailey, Cyclopedia of American Horticulture, Volume III (New York: The Macmillan Company, 1901), 1107. . Nakane, Aiko, [sample book of] Japanese Handmade Paper, (Chicago: Aiko's Art Materials Import, 1960s), 1.

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