Pith paper, a unique pre-paper material created from the plant Tetrapanax papyrifera (Latin or scientific name).  This plant is often called rice paper plant in English even though it has nothing to do with rice.  This plant is thought to be native to Taiwan though it is also found in southern China.  The pith paper from this plant has unique properties for art, and it plays an important part in the cultural history of Taiwan. Artificial flowers from pith paper have been produced in China since the Qin Dynasty (221-207B.C). Pith paper has also been used in Chinese culture as a surface for painting, and since about the mid 19th Century, pith paintings became an important souvenir item for Western tourists to bring back from visits to southern China.  In Taiwan during the late 19th and early 20th centuries the Aboriginal tribes in the mountainous areas of Hsinchu and Miaoli Counties cultivated the Tetrapanax papyrifera plant, and pith paper became an important export during the Japanese occupation era (1850s to 1945).   The pith paper industry producing pith paper by hand cutting and mainly used for artificial flower making thrived in Hsinchu until the 1980s, and finally the industry was all moved to mainland China in the 1990s where production costs were lower.   From 2011 a small group of paper historians, designers and craftsmen and the family members of some of the people who used to be involved in the pith paper industry and growing the plants in Taiwan became interested in the possibility of reviving some interest in this material for crafts and preserving the traditions and techniques for its production before all evidence or memory of it is lost in Taiwan.