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Chinese

Local scripture:

皂荚

Gleditsia sinensis Lam. © Flora of China

Botanical classification

Gleditsia sinensis Lam.

Order:

Fabales

Family:

Caesalpiniaceae

Synonyms:

Gleditsisa horrida Willd.

Gleditsisa macracantha Desf.

Gleditsisa officinalis Hemsl.

Plant growing area

China (Anhui, Fujian, Gansu, Guangdong, Guangxi, Guizhou, Hebei, Henan, Hubei, Hunan, Jiangsu, Jiangxi, Qinghai, Shaanxi, Shanxi, Sichuan, Yunnan, Zhejiang).

Grows on mountain slopes, forests, valleys, near roads; 200-2500 m.

Use area in the manufacture of paper

China, Korea.

Plant cultivation and use

Gleditsia sinensis is a tree of average size but which can reach 30m in height.

Thorns of Gleditsia sinensis are used in China and Korea for their medicinal properties.

China:

Gleditsia sinensis would be one of the 50 fundamental herbs in traditional Chinese medicine.

The plant is used as a detergent in China for 2000 years. The pods are ground into powder which is used as soap.

The powder was used to clean the paintings, but also to size the paper, or mixed with the mounting paste.

It is also possible to make a paste for printing patterns on the surface of paper. The recipe is to reduce the pod into powder to make a kind of glue which is mixed with croton oil (Codiaeum variegatum) and colors.

Used part of the plant:

Fruit

Use for paper making:

Sizing agent

Dyeing aid

Language:

English

Botanical classification

Gleditsia sinensis Lam.

Order:

Fabales

Family:

Caesalpiniaceae

Synonyms:

Gleditsisa horrida Willd.

Gleditsisa macracantha Desf.

Gleditsisa officinalis Hemsl.

Plant growing area

China (Anhui, Fujian, Gansu, Guangdong, Guangxi, Guizhou, Hebei, Henan, Hubei, Hunan, Jiangsu, Jiangxi, Qinghai, Shaanxi, Shanxi, Sichuan, Yunnan, Zhejiang).

Grows on mountain slopes, forests, valleys, near roads; 200-2500 m.

Use area in the manufacture of paper

China, Korea.

Plant cultivation and use

Gleditsia sinensis is a tree of average size but which can reach 30m in height.

Thorns of Gleditsia sinensis are used in China and Korea for their medicinal properties.

China:

Gleditsia sinensis would be one of the 50 fundamental herbs in traditional Chinese medicine.

The plant is used as a detergent in China for 2000 years. The pods are ground into powder which is used as soap.

The powder was used to clean the paintings, but also to size the paper, or mixed with the mounting paste.

Used part of the plant:

Fruit

Use for paper making:

Sizing agent

Dyeing aid

Language:

Japanese

Local scripture:

さいかち

Botanical classification

Gleditsia sinensis Lam.

Order:

Fabales

Family:

Caesalpiniaceae

Synonyms:

Gleditsisa horrida Willd.

Gleditsisa macracantha Desf.

Gleditsisa officinalis Hemsl.

Plant growing area

China (Anhui, Fujian, Gansu, Guangdong, Guangxi, Guizhou, Hebei, Henan, Hubei, Hunan, Jiangsu, Jiangxi, Qinghai, Shaanxi, Shanxi, Sichuan, Yunnan, Zhejiang).

Grows on mountain slopes, forests, valleys, near roads; 200-2500 m.

Use area in the manufacture of paper

China, Korea.

Plant cultivation and use

Gleditsia sinensis is a tree of average size but which can reach 30m in height.

Thorns of Gleditsia sinensis are used in China and Korea for their medicinal properties.

China:

Gleditsia sinensis would be one of the 50 fundamental herbs in traditional Chinese medicine.

The plant is used as a detergent in China for 2000 years. The pods are ground into powder which is used as soap.

The powder was used to clean the paintings, but also to size the paper, or mixed with the mounting paste.

Used part of the plant:

Fruit

Use for paper making:

Sizing agent

Dyeing aid

Language:

English

Botanical classification

Gleditsia sinensis Lam.

Order:

Fabales

Family:

Caesalpiniaceae

Synonyms:

Gleditsisa horrida Willd.

Gleditsisa macracantha Desf.

Gleditsisa officinalis Hemsl.

Plant growing area

China (Anhui, Fujian, Gansu, Guangdong, Guangxi, Guizhou, Hebei, Henan, Hubei, Hunan, Jiangsu, Jiangxi, Qinghai, Shaanxi, Shanxi, Sichuan, Yunnan, Zhejiang).

Grows on mountain slopes, forests, valleys, near roads; 200-2500 m.

Use area in the manufacture of paper

China, Korea.

Plant cultivation and use

Gleditsia sinensis is a tree of average size but which can reach 30m in height.

Thorns of Gleditsia sinensis are used in China and Korea for their medicinal properties.

China:

Gleditsia sinensis would be one of the 50 fundamental herbs in traditional Chinese medicine.

The plant is used as a detergent in China for 2000 years. The pods are ground into powder which is used as soap.

The powder was used to clean the paintings, but also to size the paper, or mixed with the mounting paste.

Used part of the plant:

Fruit

Use for paper making:

Sizing agent

Dyeing aid

Language:

Japanese

Local scripture:

シナサイカチ　

Botanical classification

Gleditsia sinensis Lam.

Order:

Fabales

Family:

Caesalpiniaceae

Synonyms:

Gleditsisa horrida Willd.

Gleditsisa macracantha Desf.

Gleditsisa officinalis Hemsl.

Plant growing area

China (Anhui, Fujian, Gansu, Guangdong, Guangxi, Guizhou, Hebei, Henan, Hubei, Hunan, Jiangsu, Jiangxi, Qinghai, Shaanxi, Shanxi, Sichuan, Yunnan, Zhejiang).

Grows on mountain slopes, forests, valleys, near roads; 200-2500 m.

Use area in the manufacture of paper

China, Korea.

Plant cultivation and use

Gleditsia sinensis is a tree of average size but which can reach 30m in height.

Thorns of Gleditsia sinensis are used in China and Korea for their medicinal properties.

China:

Gleditsia sinensis would be one of the 50 fundamental herbs in traditional Chinese medicine.

The plant is used as a detergent in China for 2000 years. The pods are ground into powder which is used as soap.

The powder was used to clean the paintings, but also to size the paper, or mixed with the mounting paste.

Used part of the plant:

Fruit

Use for paper making:

Sizing agent

Dyeing aid

Language:

French

Botanical classification

Gleditsia sinensis Lam.

Order:

Fabales

Family:

Caesalpiniaceae

Synonyms:

Gleditsisa horrida Willd.

Gleditsisa macracantha Desf.

Gleditsisa officinalis Hemsl.

Plant growing area

China (Anhui, Fujian, Gansu, Guangdong, Guangxi, Guizhou, Hebei, Henan, Hubei, Hunan, Jiangsu, Jiangxi, Qinghai, Shaanxi, Shanxi, Sichuan, Yunnan, Zhejiang).

Grows on mountain slopes, forests, valleys, near roads; 200-2500 m.

Use area in the manufacture of paper

China, Korea.

Plant cultivation and use

Gleditsia sinensis is a tree of average size but which can reach 30m in height.

Thorns of Gleditsia sinensis are used in China and Korea for their medicinal properties.

China:

Gleditsia sinensis would be one of the 50 fundamental herbs in traditional Chinese medicine.

The plant is used as a detergent in China for 2000 years. The pods are ground into powder which is used as soap.

The powder was used to clean the paintings, but also to size the paper, or mixed with the mounting paste.

Used part of the plant:

Fruit

Use for paper making:

Sizing agent

Dyeing aid

Language:

Japanese

Local scripture:

アレカヤシ

Botanical classification

Areca catechu L.

Order:

Arecales

Family:

Arecaceae

Synonyms:

Areca catechu Willd.

Areca faufel Gaertn.

Areca himalayana Griff. ex H. Wendl.

Areca hortensis Lour.

Areca nigra Giseke ex H. Wendl.

Sublimia areca Comm. ex Mart.

Plant growing area

Originated probably from Indonesia or India. Cultivated in the warm regions of Asia (Southeast Asia, Indonesia), China (Guangxi, Guangzhou-Canton area, Hainan, Yunnan), Taiwan.

Grows in rainforests, in undergrowth.

Use area in the manufacture of paper

China, Japan, Korea.

Plant cultivation and use

Areca catechu is a palm-tree which reaches 10 - 20m height. Fruits are abundant, orange and have an oval shape. The betelnut palm is now cultivated across the Asian tropics as a cash crop.

Throughout South and Southeast Asia, the chewing of nut is an ancient tradition for millions of people. The nut is used in combination with the betel leaf (Piper betel, Piperaceae family) and lime, to chew because it is credited with stimulating properties. Thus, the nut is used in many medicinal preparations because of the alkaloids it contains.

Its use has been mentioned in ancient texts for almost 2,000 years. The flower of the areca palm is also cooked.The dye extracted from the nut is used to dye silk and cotton. The coloring principle is the cachou, tannin extracted from the nut; it is a combination of catechol and / or epicatechol (procyanidins).

China:

Used as dye.

Japan:

Used for dyeing in black silk textiles. It is called Binroji zome.

Korea:

Also used as medicine. Not native but imported.

Thailand:

In Thailand papermakers use the shells of the nuts they have burnt to extract a mate black color which is brushed on documents written in yellow; these papers are used during certain temple ceremonies.

Preparation process for making paper

The cachou is prepared by boiling the nut crushed into powder and after filtering, the liquid is concentrated by evaporation until obtaining a thick material which is poured into moulds. These blocks are stored and sold in that form.

Cachou is melted in hot water to use it as dye. The color varies with the pH. The use of an iron mordant gives a black color.

Japan:

Dyeing of papers 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 their 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

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:

Fruit

Use for paper making:

Dye

Language:

English

Botanical classification

Gleditsia sinensis Lam.

Order:

Fabales

Family:

Caesalpiniaceae

Synonyms:

Gleditsisa horrida Willd.

Gleditsisa macracantha Desf.

Gleditsisa officinalis Hemsl.

Plant growing area

China (Anhui, Fujian, Gansu, Guangdong, Guangxi, Guizhou, Hebei, Henan, Hubei, Hunan, Jiangsu, Jiangxi, Qinghai, Shaanxi, Shanxi, Sichuan, Yunnan, Zhejiang).

Grows on mountain slopes, forests, valleys, near roads; 200-2500 m.

Use area in the manufacture of paper

China, Korea.

Plant cultivation and use

Gleditsia sinensis is a tree of average size but which can reach 30m in height.

Thorns of Gleditsia sinensis are used in China and Korea for their medicinal properties.

China:

Gleditsia sinensis would be one of the 50 fundamental herbs in traditional Chinese medicine.

The plant is used as a detergent in China for 2000 years. The pods are ground into powder which is used as soap.

The powder was used to clean the paintings, but also to size the paper, or mixed with the mounting paste.

Used part of the plant:

Fruit

Use for paper making:

Sizing agent

Dyeing aid

Wikstroemia sikokiana Franc. & Sav. © LB Vilmont

Identification

Fibre type	Bast fiber
Average fibre lenght	3mm (2-4mm)
Average fibre width	12µm (4-20µm)
Fibre ends	Very variable.
Striations, cross-markings, flexion creases	Faint surface markings. V or zigzag cross-markings under polarized light.
Associated cells	Many associated cells of various shapes (rectangular), often broken.
Special features	Quiet short fibers with broad central portions. Flater fibers than mitsumata; may be twisted.
Herzberg staining	Yellow/ Bluish Green.
Graff 'C' staining	Bright blue.

Botanical classification

Wikstroemia sikokiania Franc. & Sav.

Order:

Malvales

Family:

Thymelaeaceae

Synonyms:

Daphne sikokiana (Franch. & Sav.) Halda

Diplomorpha sikokiana (Franch. & Sav.) Nakai

Plant growing area

China, Korea, Japan.

Wikstroemia sikokiana grows in temperate climates, among the rocks on the mountain slopes between 1000 to 2800m (until 3500m), in the vicinity of sunny forest areas.

Use area in the manufacture of paper

China, Korea, Japan.

Japan:

Chubu (Fukui, Nagano, Ishikawa, Shizuoka prefectures ), Chugoku (Shimane, Tottori, Yamaguchi prefectures), Kansai (Hyogo, Kyoto, Nara, Osaka, Shiga, Wakayama prefectures), Kanto (Saitama prefecture), Kyushu (Miyazaki, Saga prefecture), Okinawa, Shikoku (Ehime, Kagawa, Kochi, Tokushima prefectures).

Plant cultivation and use

Wikstroemia sikokiana is a shrub of the Thymelaceae family, family, which includes nearly 500 species in 44 genera. There is a great confusion among the various Wikstroemias, Stelleras, Edgeworthias and especially Daphnes, because their morphologies are very similar.

Thymelaceaes are base plants for paper making in the Himalaya areas. The plants are valued for the large amount of hemicelluloses contained in the bark. They are also very much used in Chinese medicine.

Wikstroemia sikokiana is a deciduous shrub, growing slowly up to 2m. Blooming takes place between May and June. Its fruits are not edible and it has no known medicinal use.

The plant is often harvested in the wild because if it can be domesticated, it is with difficulty. It takes 5 to 7 years for the plant reaches a sufficient height (2m) to be harvested for its bark.

The sap is toxic and it is probably the reason why the paper is resistant to insects.

China:

There are 14 Wikstroemia species in Yunnan among which 6 are located in the northwest (W. delavayi, W. leptophylla, W. canescens, W. lichiangensis, W. scytophylla, W. lamatsoensis).

Japan:

Gampi fibers would be used since the Nara period (710-794). There is evidence that the papers are highly valued at the court during the Heian period (794-1185) for writing poems, and these papers were dyed or may be decorated.

The Torinoko (cf. this name) of the former province of Echizen (Fukui Prefecture) appears in the middle ages, and it owes its name "bird’s child" because of its eggshell color and its glossy surface. It is used for calligraphy as it is a shinny paper on which ink does not bleed.

From Muromachi period (1336-1573) to Edo period (1603-1867), gampi papers are used as support for paintings because they increase sharpness of gold leaf decorations, very popular in those times.

Gampi was used in large quantities during the Meiji period (1868-1912), for the production of duplicating papers (cf.Tosa gampishi) used with the mimeograph or alcohol duplicator.
Currently, as cultivation is difficult, harvesting of shrubs growing in the wild, still exists. Fiber demand exceeds production so a part of gampi is imported from the Philippines.

One hundred kilograms of harvested gampi gives three to five kilograms of paper.

Preparation process for making paper

Japan:

Harvesting takes place every three years from mid-March to late April when the sap is rising and makes the fibers bright and makes debarking easier.
The bark is peeled off immediately without steaming and hung to dry.

At this stage the bark is called "black bark". Alkaline cooking is done at this stage and lasts 2 to 3 hours. The alkaline agent is wood ashes lye or lime or caustic soda. Bleaching is sometimes made with chlorine.

After cooking, barks are placed in water for several days to remove cooking residues. It also allows achieving bleaching.

Beating is done manually or with a small hollander beater. Removing impurities is done manually or, more recently, with diaphragm flat screen because the fibers are relatively short. In this case the sorting is done after pulp beating.

Paper names

Japan:

Suffixes kami, gami, shi = paper.

In Japan kozo papers are the most numerous.

Used part of the plant:

Bark

Use for paper making:

Fiber

Language:

French

Curcuma aromatica Salisb. © Flora of China

Botanical classification

Curcuma aromatica Salisb.

Order:

Zingiberales

Family:

Zingiberaceae

Plant growing area

Curcuma aromatica occurs wild and cultivated mainly in Indo-Malesian region.

Bhutan, Burma, China (Fujian, Guangdong, Guangxi, Guizhou, Hainan, Sichuan, Xizang/Tibet, Yunnan, Zhejiang), India, Nepal, Sri Lanka.

It grows between 700-1100m and needs temperatures between 20 °C and 30 °C and a considerable amount of water.

Use area in the manufacture of paper

China, Japan, Korea.

Plant cultivation and use

Curcuma aromatica is a rhizomatous herbaceous perennial plant. The foliage dies down in late autumn and the rhizomes remain dormant in winter. During summer monsoon season, the plant grows fast and can reach a height of about 40 cm tall.

Curcuma aromatica is used as a culinary ingredient, dye, cosmetic and herbal medicine with strong antibiotic properties.

The rhizome contains an essential oil and curcumin, a polyphenol, which is the active substance.

Curcumin is a pH indicator: in acidic solutions it turns yellow, whereas in basic solutions it turns red.

Turmeric has always had a symbolic place in the ceremonies and religious uses in India, Malaysia, Indonesia, Pacific islands (marriage, birth, initiation, death ...). In particular, it is used for dyeing in yellow the dress of the Buddhist monks. It makes a poor fabric dye, as it fades with exposure to sunlight; however, it is commonly used in Indian clothing.

Preparation process for making paper

When harvesting the lateral rhizomes are taken to be cut into pieces and serve for replanting. The plants are gathered annually. They can be used fresh or prepared as a powder. In that instance, they must be boiled for several hours, then peeled from their skin and dried in the sun or in an oven. After complete drying they will be ground into powder. Fresh, they are crushed into a paste for immediate use.

Mordants used are aluminum (orange-yellow), iron (brown-black).

China:

Harvesting takes place when the leaves wilt, when the plant is about 1 year old.

The rhizomes are boiled and then dried in the sun.

They are ground into powder when they are dry or in paste when they are fresh for immediate use.

Japan:

To extract the dye, the plant is immerged in alcohol.

Dyeing of papers 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 their small side. This will keep the sheet flat during soaking.

Usually the pulp is dyed in the vat before making the sheet.

Korea:

The roots are boiled and the extract is filtered before using it for dyeing.

Paper names

Used part of the plant:

Root

Use for paper making:

Dye

Primary tabs

Gleditsia sinensis Lam.

Gleditsia sinensis Lam.

Gleditsia sinensis Lam.

Gleditsia sinensis Lam.

Gleditsia sinensis Lam.

Gleditsia sinensis Lam.

Areca catechu L.

Gleditsia sinensis Lam.

Wikstroemia sikokiania Franc. & Sav.

Curcuma aromatica Salisb.

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Primary tabs

Gleditsia sinensis Lam.

Gleditsia sinensis Lam.

Gleditsia sinensis Lam.

Gleditsia sinensis Lam.

Gleditsia sinensis Lam.

Gleditsia sinensis Lam.

Areca catechu L.

Gleditsia sinensis Lam.

Wikstroemia sikokiania Franc. & Sav.

Curcuma aromatica Salisb.

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