Paper mulberry
| Paper mulberry | |
|---|---|
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Tracheophytes |
| Clade: | Angiosperms |
| Clade: | Eudicots |
| Clade: | Rosids |
| Order: | Rosales |
| Family: | Moraceae |
| Genus: | Broussonetia |
| Species: | B. papyrifera
|
| Binomial name | |
| Broussonetia papyrifera | |
| Synonyms | |
| |
The paper mulberry (Broussonetia papyrifera, syn. Morus papyrifera L.) is a species of flowering tree in the family Moraceae. It is native to East and Southeast Asia, including mainland China, Hong Kong, India, Japan, Korea, Myanmar and Taiwan. It is widely cultivated elsewhere as an introduced species in New Zealand, parts of Europe, the United States, and Africa. The tree is valued for its versatile uses. Its inner bark is traditionally processed into barkcloth and is also an important raw material in papermaking.
Other common names include aute and tapa cloth tree. The specific Latin epithet papyrifera describes the use of its barks for papermaking.