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Identification

Fibre type	Bast fiber.
Average fibre lenght	5mm
Average fibre width	21μm
Fibre ends	Very variable, tapering rounded.
Striations, cross-markings, flexion creases	Faint crossmarkings.
Associated cells	Often present. Pitted vessel elements and parenchyma cells. Presence of cratered vessels larger than those of flax, but similar to hemp.
Special features	Short fibers. Irregularly shaped fiber ends and walls lumen. Looks like woodpulp (vessels) and straw pulp. Transverse shape: square or rectangular.
Herzberg staining	Blue.
Graff 'C' staining	Fiber in yellow with blue or green lumen.

Botanical classification

Hibiscus cannabinus L.

Order:

Malvales

Family:

Malvaceae

Synonyms:

Abelmoschus verrucosus (Guill. & Perr.) Walp.

Furcaria cavanillesii Kostel.

Hibiscus unidens Lindl.

Hibiscus verrucosus Guill. & Perr.

Ketmia glandulosa Moench

Plant growing area

Native to Africa and India.

Cultivated in China (Guangdong, Hebei, Heilongjiang, Jiangsu, Liaoning, Yunnan, Zhejiang), India, East-Asia, East Africa.

Use area in the manufacture of paper

China, India, Japan, Korea.

Plant cultivation and use

Hibiscus cannabinus is an annual herb which can reach more than 3 m high. The flowers are pale yellow or red with crimson centres. Blooming occurs from summer to autumn. Its growth is rapid; the plant can reach over four feet in four months.

Kenaf was grown in Egypt a millennium BC for making ropes and cloth (bags, sails).

The plant is grown all over Asia, mainly as fiber crop and for its oil which is used industrially. The fibers are used in the manufacture of coarse fabrics such as carpets.

Kenaf is used in India for the manufacture of cigarette paper. The rapid growth of the plant encourages papermakers to use it instead of wood in the production of paper pulp. Thus, the bast fibers or the whole stem itself are used.

Japan:

Kenaf is a modern paper fiber in Japan.

Preparation process for making paper

The harvest takes place in November-December when the stem has lost its leaves.

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.

Used part of the plant:

Stem

Use for paper making:

Fiber

Language:

English

Identification

Type de fibres	Leaf
Average fibre lenght	2 - 6mm
Average fibre width	24µm (16-32µm)
Fibre ends	Tapering pointed, rounded.
Striations, cross-markings, flexion creases	Very faint and very fine.
Associated cells	Rectangular epidermal cells, typical stomata. Parenchyma, silica cells, and short, pitted vessel elements.
Special features	Smooth, lustrous fibers with irregular width. Transversal cut: polygonal oval shape, thin walls.
Herzberg staining	Blue/Gray
Graff 'C' staining	Blue/Gray

Botanical classification

Musa textilis Née

Order:

Zingiberales

Family:

Musaceae

Plant growing area

Native to Philippines and Indonesia (Borneo and Sumatra). Cultivated in Latin America.

China (Guangdong, Guangxi, Yunnan). Thailand.

Use area in the manufacture of paper

China, Korea, Japan, Thailand.

Thailand:

North of Thailand

Plant cultivation and use

Abaca is a type of banana tree which fruit is not edible. It is a pseudostem plant reaching approximately 6m in height and which can live 10 years. The leaves grow from the trunk. It is grown in well-drained loamy soils.
The qualities of the plant to produce long fibers used in making ropes are known to Europeans since the 19th century. They were traditionally used in the Philippines for making fishing nets and ropes resistant to salt water.
The use of the plant to make textile fibers and paper, bags and carpets, is recent.
The very long fibers are extracted from the stem.

China:

Musa textilis may have been used in southern China to make clothes.

Japan:

It is a modern paper fiber in Japan. Abaca is used in the manufacture of kairyo hanshi or improved hanshi papers, after World War II.

In Okinawa Prefecture fibers of a local banana (musa paradisiach) are used to make paper.

Korea:

It is a modern paper fiber in Korea.

Thailand:

This is essentially a modern fiber used to make fancy paper and handicrafts. It is also used to make writing or printing papers.

Preparation process for making paper

Harvesting takes place every 3-8 months. The plant should grow 18 to 25 months before harvesting.

Collecting the fibers is performed in three stages: steaming that allows the separation of primary and secondary sheath of the leaf, stripping to get the fibres and drying in the sun.

The stem of the banana is used to make fibers for textiles: the rod is separated into strips and scraped (between a board and a knife blade) to remove the spongy part and separate the fibers. These are dried in the sun so they separate. They must be then sorted by combing and put into bundles.

Paper names

Japan:

Suffixes kami, gami, shi = paper.

In Japan kozo papers are the most numerous.

Used part of the plant:

Leaf

Stem

Use for paper making:

Fiber

Language:

French

Identification

Type de fibres	Leaf
Average fibre lenght	2 - 6mm
Average fibre width	24µm (16-32µm)
Fibre ends	Tapering pointed, rounded.
Striations, cross-markings, flexion creases	Very faint and very fine.
Associated cells	Rectangular epidermal cells, typical stomata. Parenchyma, silica cells, and short, pitted vessel elements.
Special features	Smooth, lustrous fibers with irregular width. Transversal cut: polygonal oval shape, thin walls.
Herzberg staining	Blue/Gray
Graff 'C' staining	Blue/Gray

Botanical classification

Musa textilis Née

Order:

Zingiberales

Family:

Musaceae

Plant growing area

Native to Philippines and Indonesia (Borneo and Sumatra). Cultivated in Latin America.

China (Guangdong, Guangxi, Yunnan). Thailand.

Use area in the manufacture of paper

China, Korea, Japan, Thailand.

Thailand:

North of Thailand

Plant cultivation and use

China:

Musa textilis may have been used in southern China to make clothes.

Japan:

It is a modern paper fiber in Japan. Abaca is used in the manufacture of kairyo hanshi or improved hanshi papers, after World War II.

In Okinawa Prefecture fibers of a local banana (musa paradisiach) are used to make paper.

Korea:

It is a modern paper fiber in Korea.

Thailand:

This is essentially a modern fiber used to make fancy paper and handicrafts. It is also used to make writing or printing papers.

Preparation process for making paper

Harvesting takes place every 3-8 months. The plant should grow 18 to 25 months before harvesting.

Collecting the fibers is performed in three stages: steaming that allows the separation of primary and secondary sheath of the leaf, stripping to get the fibres and drying in the sun.

Paper names

Japan:

Suffixes kami, gami, shi = paper.

In Japan kozo papers are the most numerous.

Used part of the plant:

Leaf

Stem

Use for paper making:

Fiber

Language:

French

Botanical classification

Alcea rosea L.

Order:

Malvales

Family:

Malvaceae

Synonyms:

Althaea rosea (L.) Cav.

Althaea rosea var. sinensis (Cav.) S. Y. Hu

Althaea sinensis Cav.

Plant growing area

Not known in the wild but believed to have originated in China or from the tropical areas of South-East Asia.

Widely cultivated as an ornamental. China (Fujian, Guangdong, Guangxi, Hainan, Sichuan, Yunnan), Pakistan, Taiwan.

Use area in the manufacture of paper

China, Korea, Japan.

Plant cultivation and use

Biennial or perennial herb up to 2 to 3m high, cultivated as an ornamental. It is in flower from July to September. The flowers have colors ranging from white through pink and dark red to black.The purple flowers provide purple and blue-violet dyes.

The dying components are anthocyanidols: cyanidol, delphinidol, malvidin. The leaves contain a green dye and the flowers, a red one.

The dye was used to dye silk, wool, cotton and hides.

The roots and the flowers are used in Tibetan medicine: flowers and root are demulcent, diuretic and astringent.

The plant has also nutritional properties: the young leaves are eatable; a nutritious starch is obtained from the root and a tea is made from the flower petals.

China:

It is mainly used for its medicinal properties. It is used to dye ceremony papers and cards of scholars.

Japan:

Used as dye for fabrics.

Korea:

Used as dye for fabrics.

Preparation process for making paper

Using alum and tartar mordants allow a range of colors from blue to purple. Iron gives very dark red, almost black.

China:

The flowers are harvested when they are opened and are dried for later use. The dye is extracted from the petals. The petals can be used either fresh or dried.

Japan:

Dyeing 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.

Korea:

The papers are dyed in three ways: dyeing of the pulp (Seonyeombeop), dyeing of the sheet by dipping, brushing and spraying (Huyeombeop ), combination of the both methods (Honyeombeop). Then the paper can be hammered.

Paper names

China:

Suffixes zhi or chih = paper.

In China, unlike Korea and Japan, papers made with paper mulberry fibers are not prominent, the production of paper from bamboo fiber being the most important.

Used part of the plant:

Leaf

Flower

Use for paper making:

Dye

Language:

French

Botanical classification

Alcea rosea L.

Order:

Malvales

Family:

Malvaceae

Synonyms:

Althaea rosea (L.) Cav.

Althaea rosea var. sinensis (Cav.) S. Y. Hu

Althaea sinensis Cav.

Plant growing area

Not known in the wild but believed to have originated in China or from the tropical areas of South-East Asia.

Widely cultivated as an ornamental. China (Fujian, Guangdong, Guangxi, Hainan, Sichuan, Yunnan), Pakistan, Taiwan.

Use area in the manufacture of paper

China, Korea, Japan.

Plant cultivation and use

The dying components are anthocyanidols: cyanidol, delphinidol, malvidin. The leaves contain a green dye and the flowers, a red one.

The dye was used to dye silk, wool, cotton and hides.

The roots and the flowers are used in Tibetan medicine: flowers and root are demulcent, diuretic and astringent.

The plant has also nutritional properties: the young leaves are eatable; a nutritious starch is obtained from the root and a tea is made from the flower petals.

China:

It is mainly used for its medicinal properties. It is used to dye ceremony papers and cards of scholars.

Japan:

Used as dye for fabrics.

Korea:

Used as dye for fabrics.

Preparation process for making paper

Using alum and tartar mordants allow a range of colors from blue to purple. Iron gives very dark red, almost black.

China:

The flowers are harvested when they are opened and are dried for later use. The dye is extracted from the petals. The petals can be used either fresh or dried.

Japan:

Dyeing 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.

Korea:

Paper names

China:

Suffixes zhi or chih = paper.

In China, unlike Korea and Japan, papers made with paper mulberry fibers are not prominent, the production of paper from bamboo fiber being the most important.

Used part of the plant:

Leaf

Flower

Use for paper making:

Dye

Language:

Chinese

Local scripture:

蜀葵

Botanical classification

Alcea rosea L.

Order:

Malvales

Family:

Malvaceae

Synonyms:

Althaea rosea (L.) Cav.

Althaea rosea var. sinensis (Cav.) S. Y. Hu

Althaea sinensis Cav.

Plant growing area

Not known in the wild but believed to have originated in China or from the tropical areas of South-East Asia.

Widely cultivated as an ornamental. China (Fujian, Guangdong, Guangxi, Hainan, Sichuan, Yunnan), Pakistan, Taiwan.

Use area in the manufacture of paper

China, Korea, Japan.

Plant cultivation and use

The dying components are anthocyanidols: cyanidol, delphinidol, malvidin. The leaves contain a green dye and the flowers, a red one.

The dye was used to dye silk, wool, cotton and hides.

The roots and the flowers are used in Tibetan medicine: flowers and root are demulcent, diuretic and astringent.

The plant has also nutritional properties: the young leaves are eatable; a nutritious starch is obtained from the root and a tea is made from the flower petals.

China:

It is mainly used for its medicinal properties. It is used to dye ceremony papers and cards of scholars.

Japan:

Used as dye for fabrics.

Korea:

Used as dye for fabrics.

Preparation process for making paper

Using alum and tartar mordants allow a range of colors from blue to purple. Iron gives very dark red, almost black.

China:

The flowers are harvested when they are opened and are dried for later use. The dye is extracted from the petals. The petals can be used either fresh or dried.

Japan:

Dyeing 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.

Korea:

Paper names

China:

Suffixes zhi or chih = paper.

In China, unlike Korea and Japan, papers made with paper mulberry fibers are not prominent, the production of paper from bamboo fiber being the most important.

Used part of the plant:

Leaf

Flower

Use for paper making:

Dye

Language:

Korean

Local scripture:

접시꽃

Botanical classification

Alcea rosea L.

Order:

Malvales

Family:

Malvaceae

Synonyms:

Althaea rosea (L.) Cav.

Althaea rosea var. sinensis (Cav.) S. Y. Hu

Althaea sinensis Cav.

Plant growing area

Not known in the wild but believed to have originated in China or from the tropical areas of South-East Asia.

Widely cultivated as an ornamental. China (Fujian, Guangdong, Guangxi, Hainan, Sichuan, Yunnan), Pakistan, Taiwan.

Use area in the manufacture of paper

China, Korea, Japan.

Plant cultivation and use

The dying components are anthocyanidols: cyanidol, delphinidol, malvidin. The leaves contain a green dye and the flowers, a red one.

The dye was used to dye silk, wool, cotton and hides.

The roots and the flowers are used in Tibetan medicine: flowers and root are demulcent, diuretic and astringent.

The plant has also nutritional properties: the young leaves are eatable; a nutritious starch is obtained from the root and a tea is made from the flower petals.

China:

It is mainly used for its medicinal properties. It is used to dye ceremony papers and cards of scholars.

Japan:

Used as dye for fabrics.

Korea:

Used as dye for fabrics.

Preparation process for making paper

Using alum and tartar mordants allow a range of colors from blue to purple. Iron gives very dark red, almost black.

China:

The flowers are harvested when they are opened and are dried for later use. The dye is extracted from the petals. The petals can be used either fresh or dried.

Japan:

Dyeing 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.

Korea:

Paper names

China:

Suffixes zhi or chih = paper.

In China, unlike Korea and Japan, papers made with paper mulberry fibers are not prominent, the production of paper from bamboo fiber being the most important.

Used part of the plant:

Leaf

Flower

Use for paper making:

Dye

Language:

French

Botanical classification

Alcea rosea L.

Order:

Malvales

Family:

Malvaceae

Synonyms:

Althaea rosea (L.) Cav.

Althaea rosea var. sinensis (Cav.) S. Y. Hu

Althaea sinensis Cav.

Plant growing area

Not known in the wild but believed to have originated in China or from the tropical areas of South-East Asia.

Widely cultivated as an ornamental. China (Fujian, Guangdong, Guangxi, Hainan, Sichuan, Yunnan), Pakistan, Taiwan.

Use area in the manufacture of paper

China, Korea, Japan.

Plant cultivation and use

The dying components are anthocyanidols: cyanidol, delphinidol, malvidin. The leaves contain a green dye and the flowers, a red one.

The dye was used to dye silk, wool, cotton and hides.

The roots and the flowers are used in Tibetan medicine: flowers and root are demulcent, diuretic and astringent.

The plant has also nutritional properties: the young leaves are eatable; a nutritious starch is obtained from the root and a tea is made from the flower petals.

China:

It is mainly used for its medicinal properties. It is used to dye ceremony papers and cards of scholars.

Japan:

Used as dye for fabrics.

Korea:

Used as dye for fabrics.

Preparation process for making paper

Using alum and tartar mordants allow a range of colors from blue to purple. Iron gives very dark red, almost black.

China:

The flowers are harvested when they are opened and are dried for later use. The dye is extracted from the petals. The petals can be used either fresh or dried.

Japan:

Dyeing 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.

Korea:

Paper names

China:

Suffixes zhi or chih = paper.

In China, unlike Korea and Japan, papers made with paper mulberry fibers are not prominent, the production of paper from bamboo fiber being the most important.

Used part of the plant:

Leaf

Flower

Use for paper making:

Dye

Language:

English

Botanical classification

Alcea rosea L.

Order:

Malvales

Family:

Malvaceae

Synonyms:

Althaea rosea (L.) Cav.

Althaea rosea var. sinensis (Cav.) S. Y. Hu

Althaea sinensis Cav.

Plant growing area

Not known in the wild but believed to have originated in China or from the tropical areas of South-East Asia.

Widely cultivated as an ornamental. China (Fujian, Guangdong, Guangxi, Hainan, Sichuan, Yunnan), Pakistan, Taiwan.

Use area in the manufacture of paper

China, Korea, Japan.

Plant cultivation and use

The dying components are anthocyanidols: cyanidol, delphinidol, malvidin. The leaves contain a green dye and the flowers, a red one.

The dye was used to dye silk, wool, cotton and hides.

The roots and the flowers are used in Tibetan medicine: flowers and root are demulcent, diuretic and astringent.

The plant has also nutritional properties: the young leaves are eatable; a nutritious starch is obtained from the root and a tea is made from the flower petals.

China:

It is mainly used for its medicinal properties. It is used to dye ceremony papers and cards of scholars.

Japan:

Used as dye for fabrics.

Korea:

Used as dye for fabrics.

Preparation process for making paper

Using alum and tartar mordants allow a range of colors from blue to purple. Iron gives very dark red, almost black.

China:

The flowers are harvested when they are opened and are dried for later use. The dye is extracted from the petals. The petals can be used either fresh or dried.

Japan:

Dyeing 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.

Korea:

Paper names

China:

Suffixes zhi or chih = paper.

In China, unlike Korea and Japan, papers made with paper mulberry fibers are not prominent, the production of paper from bamboo fiber being the most important.

Used part of the plant:

Leaf

Flower

Use for paper making:

Dye

Language:

Chinese

Local scripture:

马尼拉麻

Identification

Type de fibres	Leaf
Average fibre lenght	2 - 6mm
Average fibre width	24µm (16-32µm)
Fibre ends	Tapering pointed, rounded.
Striations, cross-markings, flexion creases	Very faint and very fine.
Associated cells	Rectangular epidermal cells, typical stomata. Parenchyma, silica cells, and short, pitted vessel elements.
Special features	Smooth, lustrous fibers with irregular width. Transversal cut: polygonal oval shape, thin walls.
Herzberg staining	Blue/Gray
Graff 'C' staining	Blue/Gray

Botanical classification

Musa textilis Née

Order:

Zingiberales

Family:

Musaceae

Plant growing area

Native to Philippines and Indonesia (Borneo and Sumatra). Cultivated in Latin America.

China (Guangdong, Guangxi, Yunnan). Thailand.

Use area in the manufacture of paper

China, Korea, Japan, Thailand.

Thailand:

North of Thailand

Plant cultivation and use

China:

Musa textilis may have been used in southern China to make clothes.

Japan:

It is a modern paper fiber in Japan. Abaca is used in the manufacture of kairyo hanshi or improved hanshi papers, after World War II.

In Okinawa Prefecture fibers of a local banana (musa paradisiach) are used to make paper.

Korea:

It is a modern paper fiber in Korea.

Thailand:

This is essentially a modern fiber used to make fancy paper and handicrafts. It is also used to make writing or printing papers.

Preparation process for making paper

Harvesting takes place every 3-8 months. The plant should grow 18 to 25 months before harvesting.

Collecting the fibers is performed in three stages: steaming that allows the separation of primary and secondary sheath of the leaf, stripping to get the fibres and drying in the sun.

Paper names

Japan:

Suffixes kami, gami, shi = paper.

In Japan kozo papers are the most numerous.

Used part of the plant:

Leaf

Stem

Use for paper making:

Fiber

Primary tabs

Hibiscus cannabinus L.

Musa textilis Née

Musa textilis Née

Alcea rosea L.

Alcea rosea L.

Alcea rosea L.

Alcea rosea L.

Alcea rosea L.

Alcea rosea L.

Musa textilis Née

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Search

Primary tabs

Hibiscus cannabinus L.

Musa textilis Née

Musa textilis Née

Alcea rosea L.

Alcea rosea L.

Alcea rosea L.

Alcea rosea L.

Alcea rosea L.

Alcea rosea L.

Musa textilis Née

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