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Broussonetia papyrifera

Common name:	Paper Mulberry	Family:	Moraceae
Author:	(L.)Vent.	Botanical references:	11, 109, 200
Synonyms:	Papyrius papyrifera ((L.)Kuntze.), Morus papyrifera (L.)
Known Hazards:	None known
Range:	E. Asia - China. Occasionally naturalized in S.E. Europe[50].
Habitat:	Thickets, mountain ravines and forests[109].
Edibility Rating (1-5):	4	Medicinal Rating (1-5):	2

Other Possible Synonyms:	From various places across the web, may not be correct. See below.
	Papyrius papyriferus[B,P]
Other Common Names:	From various places around the Web, may not be correct. See below.
	Ch'U [E], Ku Shu [E], Paper Mulberry [P,H,DEN1], Paper-mulberry [B],
Epithets:	From a Dictionary of Botanical Epithets
	papyrifer = paper bearing; papyrifera = paper bearing;
Systematics:	From a USDA Plants Database
	Order: Urticales. Mulberry family
Other Range Info:	From the Ethnobotany Database
	China; Hawaii; Samoa; Taiwan
Noxious, Invasive and Injurious Weeds	From USDA PLANTS database, Weeds Australia , DEFRA Injurious Weeds
	Listed as noxious/invasive for: USA Invasive.

Physical Characteristics

A decidious tree growing to 9m by 9m at a medium rate. It is hardy to zone 8 and is frost tender. It is in flower from August to September, and the seeds ripen from September to November. The flowers are dioecious (individual flowers are either male or female, but only one sex is to be found on any one plant so both male and female plants must be grown if seed is required). The plant not is self-fertile. We rate it 4/5 for edibility and 2/5 for medicinal use.

The plant prefers light (sandy), medium (loamy) and heavy (clay) soils, requires well-drained soil and can grow in nutritionally poor soil. The plant prefers acid, neutral and basic (alkaline) soils. It cannot grow in the shade. It requires dry or moist soil and can tolerate drought. It can tolerate atmospheric pollution.

Habitats and Possible Locations

Woodland, Secondary, Sunny Edge, Dappled Shade.

Edible Uses

Flowers; Fruit; Leaves.

Fruit - raw[2, 105, 177, 179]. The fruit comprises a ball about 1.5cm in diameter with numerous small edible fruits protruding - there is not much edible flesh but it has a lovely flavour[K]. Prolonged ingestion is said to weaken the bones[179].
Leaves - cooked[105]. The dried leaf contains 1% calcium carbonate[179] (this report does not mention edibility).
Flowers[179]. No more details.

Medicinal Uses

Disclaimer

Astringent; Diaphoretic; Diuretic; Galactogogue; Haemostatic; Laxative; Ophthalmic; Skin; Stimulant; Stomachic; Tonic; Vulnerary.

Astringent, diuretic, tonic, vulnerary[178].
The leaf juice is diaphoretic and laxative - it is also used in the treatment of dysentery[218]. It is also poulticed onto various skin disorders, bites etc[218].
The stem bark is haemostatic[218].
The fruit is diuretic, ophthalmic, stimulant, stomachic and tonic[218].
The root is cooked with other foods as a galactogogue[218].

Other Uses

Fibre; Leather; Paper; Wood.

A fibre from the bark is used in making paper, cloth, rope etc[46, 61, 114, 171]. The fibre can be produced by beating strips of bark on a flat surface with a wooden mallet. A very fine cloth can be made in this way, the more the bark is beaten the finer the cloth becomes. Larger sizes can be made by overlapping 2 pieces of bark and beating them together. A leather substitute can also be made from the bark[171]. When used for making paper branches are harvested after the leaves have fallen in the autumn, they are steamed and the fibres stripped off. In humid areas this can be done without steaming the branches. The inner and outer bark are then separated by scraping (or simply peeling in humid areas) and the fibres are cooked for 2 hours with lye before being hand pounded with mallets. The paper varies in colour if the outer and inner barks are used together or separately[189].
Wood - coarse grained, soft, easily worked, light, not very durable. Used for cups, bowls etc[149, 158, 178, 229].

Cultivation details

Easily cultivated in a warm sunny position in any soil of reasonable quality[11]. A drought resistant species once established[149], thriving on poor sandy or gravelly soils[200, 229]. Another report says that it does not thrive on poor soils[146]. Tolerates atmospheric pollution[200]. A fast-growing tree according to one report[227], but whilst it might be fast in relation to other members of the genus, it is only of moderate growth compared to some species[K].
This species is not hardy in the colder areas of the country, it tolerates temperatures down to about -10°c[200]. The young growth in spring, even on mature plants, is frost-tender and so it is best to grow the plants in a position sheltered from the early morning sun[K].
There is a superb specimen of this tree at Cambridge Botanical gardens, in the late summer of 1996 it was about 12 metres tall and 16 metres wide and was bearing a huge crop of immature fruit[K].
The leaves on the same tree can vary widely in shape and size[K].
The paper mulberry is widely cultivated in E. Asia for the fibre in its bark, there are many named varieties[11, 200]. Trees are coppiced annually for this purpose[4], though the coppice interval in countries such as Britain would probably be 2 - 3 years. This is a very adaptable tree, it is found growing in tropical climates but its range also extends well into the temperate zone.
Dioecious. Male and female plants must be grown if seed is required.

Propagation

Seed - no pre-treatment is required. Sown in the autumn or spring in a greenhouse, germination usually takes place within 1 - 3 months at 15°c[138]. When large enough to handle, prick the seedlings out into individual pots and grow them on in the greenhouse for at least their first winter, planting them out into their permanent positions in late spring or early summer, after the last expected frosts.
Cuttings of half-ripe wood, 8 - 12cm long with a heel, July/August in a frame. High percentage[11, 78].
Cuttings of mature wood of the current season's growth, November in a frame[200].
Root cuttings in winter[200].
Layering in spring[200].

Cultivars

'': No entries have been made for this species as yet.

Suppliers

For more details of plant suppliers please see our Suppliers Page which lists many more places to look.

Web References

Details of Medicinal Uses, Habitats, etc. in M. Grieve A Modern Herbal (1931) [4]
[H] Details of Scandanavian and European Common names in Henriette's names database
[E] Ethnobotany Data (common names, uses, countries) from the Ethnobotany Database.
[B] Data (Latin & Common names, other references) from the BONAP's Synonymized Checklist of the Vascular Flora of the United States, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands.
[PHARM] Phytochemical Data (common names, uses, countries) from Dr Duke's Phytochemical Database.
[G] Data (Common Names, Uses, Distribution) from the USDA/ARS NPGS's GRIN taxonomic database.
[P] Data. (uses, distribution, wetland) from the USDA'a Plants database.
[DEN] Data _ Photos (Good Identification info) from the Virginia Tech's Dendrology Deptarments' Tree Fact Sheets.
[HP] Links, Photos, Suppliers from Hortiplex Plant Database

References for the family Moraceae.

[CHINA] Draft Data Very detailed botanical/identification info. from the Flora of China.

See the PFAF Links Pages for other sources.

Also try Photos and info from the The Plants Database which has 14,000 images.

References

[K] Ken Fern
Notes from observations, tasting etc at Plants For A Future and on field trips.

[2] Hedrick. U. P. Sturtevant's Edible Plants of the World. Dover Publications 1972 ISBN 0-486-20459-6
Lots of entries, quite a lot of information in most entries and references.

[4] Grieve. A Modern Herbal. Penguin 1984 ISBN 0-14-046-440-9
Not so modern (1930's?) but lots of information, mainly temperate plants.

[11] Bean. W. Trees and Shrubs Hardy in Great Britain. Vol 1 - 4 and Supplement. Murray 1981
A classic with a wealth of information on the plants, but poor on pictures.

[46] Uphof. J. C. Th. Dictionary of Economic Plants. Weinheim 1959
An excellent and very comprehensive guide but it only gives very short descriptions of the uses without any details of how to utilize the plants. Not for the casual reader.

[50] ? Flora Europaea Cambridge University Press 1964
An immense work in 6 volumes (including the index). The standard reference flora for europe, it is very terse though and with very little extra information. Not for the casual reader.

[61] Usher. G. A Dictionary of Plants Used by Man. Constable 1974 ISBN 0094579202
Forget the sexist title, this is one of the best books on the subject. Lists a very extensive range of useful plants from around the world with very brief details of the uses. Not for the casual reader.

[78] Sheat. W. G. Propagation of Trees, Shrubs and Conifers. MacMillan and Co 1948
A bit dated but a good book on propagation techniques with specific details for a wide range of plants.

[105] Tanaka. T. Tanaka's Cyclopaedia of Edible Plants of the World. Keigaku Publishing 1976
The most comprehensive guide to edible plants I've come across. Only the briefest entry for each species, though, and some of the entries are more than a little dubious. Not for the casual reader.

[109] Wilson. E. H. Plantae Wilsonae.
Details of the palnts collected by the plant collector E. H. Wilson on his travels in China. Gives some habitats. Not for the casual reader.

[114] Chakravarty. H. L. The Plant Wealth of Iraq.
It is surprising how many of these plants can be grown in Britain. A very readable book on the useful plants of Iraq.

[138] Bird. R. (Editor) Growing from Seed. Volume 3. Thompson and Morgan. 1989
Very readable magazine with lots of information on propagation.

[146] Gamble. J. S. A Manual of Indian Timbers. Bishen Singh Mahendra Pal Singh 1972
Written last century, but still a classic, giving a lot of information on the uses and habitats of Indian trees. Not for the casual reader.

[149] Vines. R. A. Trees of Central Texas. University of Texas Press 1987 ISBN 0-292-78958-3
Fairly readable, it gives details of habitats and some of the uses of trees growing in Texas.

[158] Gupta. B. L. Forest Flora of Chakrata, Dehra Dun and Saharanpur. Forest Research Institute Press 1945
A good flora for the middle Himalayan forests, sparsly illustrated. Not really for the casual reader.

[171] Hill. A. F. Economic Botany. The Maple Press 1952
Not very comprehensive, but it is quite readable and goes into some a bit of detail about the plants it does cover.

[177] Kunkel. G. Plants for Human Consumption. Koeltz Scientific Books 1984 ISBN 3874292169
An excellent book for the dedicated. A comprehensive listing of latin names with a brief list of edible parts.

[178] Stuart. Rev. G. A. Chinese Materia Medica. Taipei. Southern Materials Centre
A translation of an ancient Chinese herbal. Fascinating.

[179] Reid. B. E. Famine Foods of the Chiu-Huang Pen-ts'ao. Taipei. Southern Materials Centre 1977
A translation of an ancient Chinese book on edible wild foods. Fascinating.

[189] Bell. L. A. Plant Fibres for Papermaking. Liliaceae Press 1988
A good practical section on how to make paper on a small scale plus details of about 75 species (quite a few of them tropical) that can be used.

[200] Huxley. A. The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992. MacMillan Press 1992 ISBN 0-333-47494-5
Excellent and very comprehensive, though it contains a number of silly mistakes. Readable yet also very detailed.

[218] Duke. J. A. and Ayensu. E. S. Medicinal Plants of China Reference Publications, Inc. 1985 ISBN 0-917256-20-4
Details of over 1,200 medicinal plants of China and brief details of their uses. Often includes an analysis, or at least a list of constituents. Heavy going if you are not into the subject.

[227] Vines. R.A. Trees of North Texas University of Texas Press. 1982 ISBN 0292780206
A readable guide to the area, it contains descriptions of the plants and their habitats with quite a bit of information on plant uses.

[229] Elias. T. The Complete Trees of N. America. Field Guide and Natural History. Van Nostrand Reinhold Co. 1980 ISBN 0442238622
A very good concise guide. Gives habitats, good descriptions, maps showing distribution and a few of the uses. It also includes the many shrubs that occasionally reach tree proportions.

Readers Comments

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