The paper mulberry ( Broussonetia papyrifera, syn. Morus papyrifera L.) is a species of flowering plant in the family Moraceae. It is native to Asia,[ Broussonetia papyrifera. Flora of North America.] where its range includes mainland China, Taiwan, Japan, Korea, Southeast Asia, Myanmar, and India.[ and Africa.]
Origin
Paper mulberry was used among ancient Austronesians in making barkcloth. It originates from subtropical regions in mainland Asia and is one of the best examples for the mainstream "Out of Taiwan" hypothesis of the Austronesian expansion. Various genetic studies have traced the origins of paper mulberry populations in the Remote Pacific all the way to Taiwan via New Guinea and Sulawesi. In the Philippines, which was along the expansion path, paper mulberries are mostly descendants of modern introductions in 1935. Ancient introductions of paper mulberry presumably went extinct in prehistory due to their replacement with hand-woven fabrics, given that paper mulberry generally only survives under human cultivation. However, its absence in the Philippines further underlines its origins in Taiwan, and not within island Southeast Asia. Additionally, paper mulberry populations in New Guinea also show genetic inflow from another expansion out of Indochina and South China.
It is believed to be the most widely transported fiber crop in prehistory, having been transported along with the full range of the Austronesian expansion, as opposed to most of the other commensal crops in Oceania. Paper mulberry is present in almost every island or island group in Polynesia, including Rapa Nui and Aotearoa. Some populations have gone recently extinct after they stopped being cultivated, such as in the Cook Islands and Mangareva, although accounts and prepared barkcloth and herbarium specimens of them exist in museum collections gathered by Europeans during the colonial era. They were spread by Polynesians primarily through vegetative propagation with cuttings and root shoots. They were rarely cultivated from seeds, as most plants were harvested prior to flowering, when the stems reach around in diameter, as described by 18th-century European accounts. If the feral plants reproduced sexually is unknown, as the plants are dioecious and require both male and female specimens to be present in one island.
Description
This species is a deciduous shrub or tree usually growing tall, but known to reach at times. The leaves are variable in shape, even on one individual. The blades may be lobed or unlobed, but they usually have toothed edges, lightly hairy, pale undersides, and a rough texture. They are up to about long. The species has male and female flowers on separate plants. The staminate inflorescence is a catkin up to long with fuzzy male flowers. The pistillate inflorescence is a spherical head up to about wide with greenish female flowers trailing long gynoecium. The infructescence is a spherical multiple fruit wide containing many red or orange fruits. Each individual protruding fruit in the cluster is a drupe.[
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Uses
This plant has been cultivated in Asia and some Pacific Islands for many centuries for food, fiber, and medicine.[
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Barkcloth
Paper mulberry is primarily used in the Pacific Islands to make barkcloth ( Tapa cloth in most Polynesian languages).
Barkcloth was mainly used for clothing among ancient Austronesians and is traditionally made using characteristic stone or wooden beaters, which are among the most common artifacts found in Austronesian archaeological sites. Numerous archaeological remains of barkcloth beaters in southern China have been regarded as evidence that the pre-Taiwan Austronesian homelands were located in the region prior to the southward expansion of the Han Dynasty, particularly around the Pearl River Delta. The oldest such remains are from the Dingmo Site in Guangxi, dated to around 7,900 Before Present.[
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Although numerous names are used for paper mulberry throughout Austronesia, none are , thus a Proto-Oceanic term cannot be reconstructed. In most of Polynesia, the term for barkcloth can be reconstructed from Proto-Nuclear-Polynesian *taba, meaning "bark", with cognates including Wayan language taba; Tongan language, Samoan language, Mangareva, and Rarotongan tapa; and Hawaiian kapa. Other terms widely used for barkcloth and paper mulberry are derived from the Proto-Polynesian reconstructed word *siapo, with cognates including Niue language, Tongan language, and Marquesan hiapo; and Samoan language and Futunan language siapo.[Blust, Robert & Trussel, Steve (work-in-progress). *ikay, Austronesian Comparative Dictionary, web edition.]
In New Zealand, traditional Polynesian methods for producing barkcloth ( aute)
Paper
The paper mulberry was a significant fiber crop in the history of paper. Known for its durability and longevity, it continues to be used in various traditional and contemporary paper-making practices today. It has been used for papermaking in China since sometime between the 2nd and 8th century, and in Korea, the oldest existing block print in the world (c. 751 AD) is printed on Korean paper paper using its fibers.
Other uses
The wood of the plant is useful for making furniture and utensils, and the roots can be used as rope.[ The fruit and cooked leaves are edible.][
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The fruit, leaves, and bark have been used in systems of traditional medicine.[ For example, the bark and fruit of the species, known locally as jangli toot, are used as a laxative and antipyretic in rural Pakistan.][Hussain, K., et al. (2008). An ethnobotanical survey of important wild medicinal plants of Hattar district Haripur, Pakistan. Ethnobotanical Leaflets 12, 29-35.]
The species is used as an ornamental plant. It tolerates disturbance and air pollution, so it has been useful as a landscaping plant on roadsides. It is a pioneer species that easily fills forest clearings, and it has been considered for reforestation efforts.[ It grows well in many climate types.][Morgan, E. C. and W. A. Overholt. Wildland Weeds: Paper Mulberry, Broussonetia papyrifera. ENY-702. Entomology and Nematology. Florida Cooperative Extension Service. University of Florida IFAS. Published 2004, revised 2013.]
Invasive weed
The ability of the plant to readily colonize available habitat, particularly disturbed areas, has helped it become an invasive species in some regions. It spreads rapidly when male and female individuals grow together and seeds are produced.[ Seed dispersal is accomplished by animals that eat the fruits, and the plants can form wide, dense stands via their spreading root systems.][
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This is considered to be one of the worst in Pakistan, one of the most significant invasive plants on the Pampas in Argentina, and a dominant invasive in the forests of Uganda.[
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The pollen is .[ It is reportedly a main culprit of inhalant allergy in Islamabad, where the species is a very common urban weed.][Malik, R. N. and S. Z. Husain. (2007). Broussonetia papyrifera (L.) L'hér. Ex Vent.: an environmental constraint on the Himalayan foothills vegetation. Pakistan Journal of Botany 39(4), 1045-53.] The pollen allergy and asthma caused by this plant sends thousands of patients to hospitals in Islamabad during March. The species should not be taken to other areas without due consideration of the potential of male plants to shed their injurious pollen.
Gallery
Gelso da carta - autunno.JPG|Form
Broussonetia papyrifera - Botanischer Garten Freiburg - DSC06385.jpg|Pistillate flowers
Broussonetia papyrifera - fleurs mâles.jpg|Staminate flowers
Papiermaulbeerbaum blickwinkel.jpg|Fruit
Broussonetia papyrifera fruits.jpg|Fruit
Broussonetia papyrifera MHNT Texture of the trunk.jpg|Texture of the trunk
Starr 061106-1467 Broussonetia papyrifera.jpg|Preparing tapa
See also
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Domesticated plants and animals of Austronesia
External links
