The substance which has received this name in Europe, through the mistaken notion that it is made from rice, consists of the pith of a small tree, Aralia papyrifera, which grows in the swampy forests of Formosa. The cylindrical core of pith is rolled on a hard flat surface against a knife, by which it is cut into thin sheets of a fine ivory-like texture. Dyed in various colours, rice paper is extensively used for the preparation of artificial flowers, while the white sheets are employed by native artists for water-colour drawings.