Bao li

Language:

Chinese

Local scripture:

枹栎

Quercus serrata Murray © Plantillustrations

Quercus serrata Murray © CFH Nature Museum

Botanical classification

Quercus serrata Murray

Order:

Fagales

Family:

Fagaceae

Synonyms:

Quercus glandulifera Blume

Quercus glandulifera var. brevipetiolata (A. DC.) Nakai

Quercus glandulifera var. stellatopilosa W. H. Zhang

Quercus glandulifera var. tomentosa B. C. Ding & T. B. Chao

Quercus ningqiangensis S. Z. Qu & W. H. Zhang

Quercus serrata Thunb.

Quercus serrata Siebold & Zucc.

Quercus serrata Roxb.

Quercus serrata var. brevipetiolata (A. DC.) Nakai

Quercus serrata var. tomentosa (B. C. Ding & T. B. Chao) Y. C. Hsu & H. Wei Jen

Quercus urticifolia Blume var. brevipetiolata A. DC.

Plant growing area

China (Anhui, Fujian, Gansu, Guangdong, Guangxi, Guizhou, Henan, Hubei, Hunan, Jiangsu, Jiangxi, South Liaoning, Shaanxi, Shandong, South Shanxi, Sichuan, Taiwan, Yunnan, Zhejiang), Japan (Hokkaido, Honshu, Shikoku, Kyushu), Korea.

Grows in deciduous forests, below 100-2200 m altitude.

Use area in the manufacture of paper

China, Japan, Korea.

Plant cultivation and use

Quercus serrata is a very common deciduous tree, reaching 25 m in height. Flowering occurs in April-May. Flowers, catkins shaped give a fruit, acorn oval shaped. It prefers well exposed areas.

The wood has the same characteristics as other oaks but tends to crack. It is used as an ornamental in parks, for making tools, for charcoal. It is mainly used for its tannins contained in the bark.

For dyeing, acorn cupuless are used.
Dyeing ingredients are tannins which are found in the bark, the acorn cupules and the galls. These tannins are a mixture of polyphenols: hydrolysable tannins (ellagitannins), condensed tannins (procyanidins), hybrid tannins (gallo-tannins and ellagiflavano-tanins).

Japan:

It is a tree used since ancient times in Japan for the production of charcoal, because it has a quite rapid growing.

Always grey was one of the most popular colors in Japan. During the Edo period (1603-1868) the acorn is widely used for dyeing fabrics in grey and black, especially for the costumes of Noh Theater. In the Engishiki (Compendium of laws dated 927 by Fujiwara no Tadahira) there is a mention of a color called Tsurubami (that is to say the acorn color).

Other oak species are also used in Japan for their acorns: Kashiwa (Quercus dentata Thunb.) Konara (Quercus serrata Murray) Shirakashi (Quercu myrsinaefolia Bl.)

Preparation process for making paper

China:

The dye is a decoction of oak acorns. The cupules are boiled and then the extract is filtered before to be used. It can be used in combination with other dyes to change the color.

Japan:

Harvesting takes place when acorns are ripe in late summer. After picking, the acorn cupules are dried. Then they will be grinded into powder and boiled. The decoction is filtered before being used. The paper sheets are soaked into the dye bath and allowed to dry.

The color obtained is a brown tone ranging from beige to brown depending on the number of passes through the bath. It is possible to use various mordants to obtain other colors. Without mordant the color obtain is beige to brown; if the mordant is an ash lye or copper acetate, color is yellow-brow; if mordant is an iron salt, the color varies from gray to black.

Dyeing of paper is performed in two ways: pulp dyeing (sukizome) or sheet dyeing (hitashizome by dipping or hikizome by brushing).

To dye paper by soaking, the sheets are plucked one by one between two wooden sticks by the small side. This will keep the sheet flat during soaking.

Usually three jars of dye are prepared with decreasing concentrations. The paper is dipped in the less concentrated dye jar and oxidation occurs in the air; the paper is then soaked in the little bit more concentrated dye. After oxidation, the sheet is dipped into the third jar with the strongest concentration. The process can be repeated several times to obtain a color more or less intense. The sheet is dried by exposing the surface to air; the color changes by oxidation.

Vernacular names

Chinese

Bao li	枹栎

Japanese

Konara	こなら

Korean

Jolchamnamu	졸참나무

French

Petit chêne

Paper names

In Asia and particularly in China, Korea and Japan, the papers are intended for a wide range of use: Papers for calligraphy and art, Papers for ceremonies, Paper as a medium of exchange, money paper, Papers for making clothes, wall hangings and bedding, Papers for architecture, interior design, Papers for crafts of various kinds, for domestic purposes and leisure. The names assigned to the paper refers to different notions: The material used, The place of production, The method of production, Appearance, Dimensions, Use, The name of an artist or a studio etc.

Korea:

Suffix ji = paper.
In Korea papers made with paper mulberry bark are the most numerous.

Papers

Korea

Sangji

Used part of the plant:

Fruit

Use for paper making:

Dye

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Bao li

Quercus serrata Murray

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