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Language:

English

Botanical classification

Isatis tinctoria L.

Order:

Brassicales

Family:

Brassicaceae

Synonyms:

Isatis indigotica Fortune

Isatis oblongata DC. var. yezoensis (Ohwi) Y. L. Chang

Isatis tinctoria var. indigotica (Fortune) T. Y. Cheo & K. C. Kuan

Isatis tinctoria var. yezoensis (Ohwi) Ohwi

Isatis yezoensis Ohwi

Plant growing area

Isatis tinctoria originated perhaps from India. The species is spontaneous in North Africa, Europe (mostly in Mediterranean area) and Western Asia until Xinjiang (China).

China (Fujian, Gansu, Guizhou, Hebei, Henan, Hubei, Jiangxi, Liaoning, Shaanxi, Shandong, Shanxi, Sichuan, Xinjiang, Xizang, Yunnan, Zhejiang), Japan, Kazakhstan, Korea, Mongolia, Pakistan, Russia, Tajikistan, Turkey, Uzbekistan.

It grows in fields, on roadsides at an altitude of 600-2800 m.

Use area in the manufacture of paper

China, Japan, Korea.

Plant cultivation and use

The genus Isatis includes 107 species in Europe and the Mediterranean area, 72 species in Asia.

Isatis tinctoria is a biennial herbaceous plant, 1m to 1.50m tall, with branched stem. It grows better in rich or calcareous soils and sunny lands.

The flowers are small, yellow and grow in clusters. Flowering occurs from May to June. The black fruits are oval.

The plant allows several harvests per year if the soil and sun exposure are good.

Its use as a dye plant is very old and widespread in the world. There are traces of its use since prehistoric times in Europe; its cultivation probably dates back to very ancient times. Egypt was a very ancient center of pastel dyeing.

Indigo plants represent about one thousand species in the world. Isatis tinctoria is the indigo plant which was the most widely used.

The roots and leaves are also used for medicinal purposes for their healing properties. The seed oil is used in the industry. The plant was also used as forage or pasture. In the Middle East, mixed with henna, it is used to dye hair.

The leaves contain a colorless glycoside of indoxyline, isatan B. By acid or enzymatic hydrolysis (fermentation) this one releases indoxyl which oxidizes by contact with oxygen from the air into dihydro-indigo (greenish) and then into indigotine (blue).

The leaf also contains but in much smaller amount, an other glycoside capable of providing indoxyl, indican.
Blues are used as basis for greens and violets dyeing (purple imitation).

China:

It is a cultivated species, very popular throughout China in traditional medicine. The roots are dried and ground into granules that will be consumed as teas.

The plant is used as dye stuffs in particular for cotton fabrics and especially for dyeing silk.

Li Shizen in « Bencao gangmu » or « Materia Medica Compendium », published in 1590, presents various kinds of indigo plants Sunglan (Isatsis tinctoria), Liaolan (Polygonum tinctorium), Mulan (Indigofera tinctoria).

The dye is used as basis for greens in combinaison with Sophora japonica or for blacks in combinaison with walnut (Juglans mandshurica Maxim., Juglans Regia L.).

Japan:

Indigo plants used in Japan are Indigofera tinctoria, Strobilanthes flaccidifolia, Isatis tinctoria and Polygonum tinctorium. The latter is the most frequently used in Japan.

The use by Ainu of Isatis tinctoria is very old, prior to the use of Knotweed (Polygonum tinctorium).

To obtain a light blue paper, it is possible to dye the pulp in the tank. To obtain an intense blue, the paper is colored by soaking in a dye bath.

Blue papers are used to cover books.

Korea:

It is a cultivated species. The dye is used as basis for greens.

Preparation process for making paper

The preparation of the dye from indigo plants involves three main techniques: the direct method of dyeing, the manufacture of shells and of starch indigo. However, there are many geographic variations related mainly to locally available ingredients.

China:

Sowing takes place in March or in October. Harvesting can be done several times in the year from June. The leaf is ripe when it begins to wilt, turn to yellow or purple.

Indigo starch method: After harvesting the leaves are left to dry and then left to ferment in a tank or a pit covered with a small layer of water. Bacterial fermentation in the tank is maintained at the fixed rate thanks to the addition of lime shell. It can take up to 20 hours depending on the ambient temperature.

The liquid is then collected and filtered. It is beaten to make him absorb oxygen and oxidize.

Precipitation is done by adding an alkali (caustic lime or ash lye). The deposit is washed, boiled and filtered. The paste, called indigo starch, is kept in mud. It is sold in this shape.

Japan:

The seeds are sown autumn. Harvesting starts when leaves are ripe in June. It is renewed every twenty days.

Shell method: The leaves are stored in a warehouse where they are moistened and brewed regularly during one hundred days. The temperature rises progressively according to the fermentation. The leaves are then crushed, drained and formed into shells or aidama which are dried.

So that they can be used for dyeing, these balls are crushed and the fermentation is reactivated by addition of warm water. The dye is directly extracted from the leave ball (which requires filtering).

Indigo starch method: After harvesting, the leaves are left to dry for two days. Then, they are put to ferment in a tank covered with a small layer of water. The fermentation can take up to 20 hours depending on the ambient temperature.

The liquid is then collected and filtered. It is beaten to make him absorb oxygen and oxidize. Precipitation is done by adding an alkali (caustic lime or ash lye).

The deposit is washed, boiled and filtered. The paste, called indigo starch, is then formed into cakes.

Dyeing of paper is made in two ways: paper pulp dyeing (sukizome) or paper sheet dyeing by dipping (hitashizome). 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 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 beat 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.

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.

Japan:

Suffixes kami, gami, shi = paper.
In Japan kozo papers are the most numerous.

Korea:

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

Used part of the plant:

Leaf

Use for paper making:

Dye

Language:

French

Botanical classification

Isatis tinctoria L.

Order:

Brassicales

Family:

Brassicaceae

Synonyms:

Isatis indigotica Fortune

Isatis oblongata DC. var. yezoensis (Ohwi) Y. L. Chang

Isatis tinctoria var. indigotica (Fortune) T. Y. Cheo & K. C. Kuan

Isatis tinctoria var. yezoensis (Ohwi) Ohwi

Isatis yezoensis Ohwi

Plant growing area

Isatis tinctoria originated perhaps from India. The species is spontaneous in North Africa, Europe (mostly in Mediterranean area) and Western Asia until Xinjiang (China).

It grows in fields, on roadsides at an altitude of 600-2800 m.

Use area in the manufacture of paper

China, Japan, Korea.

Plant cultivation and use

The genus Isatis includes 107 species in Europe and the Mediterranean area, 72 species in Asia.

Isatis tinctoria is a biennial herbaceous plant, 1m to 1.50m tall, with branched stem. It grows better in rich or calcareous soils and sunny lands.

The flowers are small, yellow and grow in clusters. Flowering occurs from May to June. The black fruits are oval.

The plant allows several harvests per year if the soil and sun exposure are good.

Indigo plants represent about one thousand species in the world. Isatis tinctoria is the indigo plant which was the most widely used.

The leaf also contains but in much smaller amount, an other glycoside capable of providing indoxyl, indican.
Blues are used as basis for greens and violets dyeing (purple imitation).

China:

It is a cultivated species, very popular throughout China in traditional medicine. The roots are dried and ground into granules that will be consumed as teas.

The plant is used as dye stuffs in particular for cotton fabrics and especially for dyeing silk.

The dye is used as basis for greens in combinaison with Sophora japonica or for blacks in combinaison with walnut (Juglans mandshurica Maxim., Juglans Regia L.).

Japan:

Indigo plants used in Japan are Indigofera tinctoria, Strobilanthes flaccidifolia, Isatis tinctoria and Polygonum tinctorium. The latter is the most frequently used in Japan.

The use by Ainu of Isatis tinctoria is very old, prior to the use of Knotweed (Polygonum tinctorium).

To obtain a light blue paper, it is possible to dye the pulp in the tank. To obtain an intense blue, the paper is colored by soaking in a dye bath.

Blue papers are used to cover books.

Korea:

It is a cultivated species. The dye is used as basis for greens.

Preparation process for making paper

China:

Sowing takes place in March or in October. Harvesting can be done several times in the year from June. The leaf is ripe when it begins to wilt, turn to yellow or purple.

The liquid is then collected and filtered. It is beaten to make him absorb oxygen and oxidize.

Precipitation is done by adding an alkali (caustic lime or ash lye). The deposit is washed, boiled and filtered. The paste, called indigo starch, is kept in mud. It is sold in this shape.

Japan:

The seeds are sown autumn. Harvesting starts when leaves are ripe in June. It is renewed every twenty days.

The liquid is then collected and filtered. It is beaten to make him absorb oxygen and oxidize. Precipitation is done by adding an alkali (caustic lime or ash lye).

The deposit is washed, boiled and filtered. The paste, called indigo starch, is then formed into cakes.

Korea:

Paper names

Japan:

Suffixes kami, gami, shi = paper.
In Japan kozo papers are the most numerous.

Korea:

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

Used part of the plant:

Leaf

Use for paper making:

Dye

Language:

French

Botanical classification

Isatis tinctoria L.

Order:

Brassicales

Family:

Brassicaceae

Synonyms:

Isatis indigotica Fortune

Isatis oblongata DC. var. yezoensis (Ohwi) Y. L. Chang

Isatis tinctoria var. indigotica (Fortune) T. Y. Cheo & K. C. Kuan

Isatis tinctoria var. yezoensis (Ohwi) Ohwi

Isatis yezoensis Ohwi

Plant growing area

Isatis tinctoria originated perhaps from India. The species is spontaneous in North Africa, Europe (mostly in Mediterranean area) and Western Asia until Xinjiang (China).

It grows in fields, on roadsides at an altitude of 600-2800 m.

Use area in the manufacture of paper

China, Japan, Korea.

Plant cultivation and use

The genus Isatis includes 107 species in Europe and the Mediterranean area, 72 species in Asia.

Isatis tinctoria is a biennial herbaceous plant, 1m to 1.50m tall, with branched stem. It grows better in rich or calcareous soils and sunny lands.

The flowers are small, yellow and grow in clusters. Flowering occurs from May to June. The black fruits are oval.

The plant allows several harvests per year if the soil and sun exposure are good.

Indigo plants represent about one thousand species in the world. Isatis tinctoria is the indigo plant which was the most widely used.

The leaf also contains but in much smaller amount, an other glycoside capable of providing indoxyl, indican.
Blues are used as basis for greens and violets dyeing (purple imitation).

China:

It is a cultivated species, very popular throughout China in traditional medicine. The roots are dried and ground into granules that will be consumed as teas.

The plant is used as dye stuffs in particular for cotton fabrics and especially for dyeing silk.

The dye is used as basis for greens in combinaison with Sophora japonica or for blacks in combinaison with walnut (Juglans mandshurica Maxim., Juglans Regia L.).

Japan:

Indigo plants used in Japan are Indigofera tinctoria, Strobilanthes flaccidifolia, Isatis tinctoria and Polygonum tinctorium. The latter is the most frequently used in Japan.

The use by Ainu of Isatis tinctoria is very old, prior to the use of Knotweed (Polygonum tinctorium).

To obtain a light blue paper, it is possible to dye the pulp in the tank. To obtain an intense blue, the paper is colored by soaking in a dye bath.

Blue papers are used to cover books.

Korea:

It is a cultivated species. The dye is used as basis for greens.

Preparation process for making paper

China:

Sowing takes place in March or in October. Harvesting can be done several times in the year from June. The leaf is ripe when it begins to wilt, turn to yellow or purple.

The liquid is then collected and filtered. It is beaten to make him absorb oxygen and oxidize.

Precipitation is done by adding an alkali (caustic lime or ash lye). The deposit is washed, boiled and filtered. The paste, called indigo starch, is kept in mud. It is sold in this shape.

Japan:

The seeds are sown autumn. Harvesting starts when leaves are ripe in June. It is renewed every twenty days.

The liquid is then collected and filtered. It is beaten to make him absorb oxygen and oxidize. Precipitation is done by adding an alkali (caustic lime or ash lye).

The deposit is washed, boiled and filtered. The paste, called indigo starch, is then formed into cakes.

Korea:

Paper names

Japan:

Suffixes kami, gami, shi = paper.
In Japan kozo papers are the most numerous.

Korea:

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

Used part of the plant:

Leaf

Use for paper making:

Dye

Language:

Japanese

Local scripture:

ハマタイセイ　

Botanical classification

Isatis tinctoria L.

Order:

Brassicales

Family:

Brassicaceae

Synonyms:

Isatis indigotica Fortune

Isatis oblongata DC. var. yezoensis (Ohwi) Y. L. Chang

Isatis tinctoria var. indigotica (Fortune) T. Y. Cheo & K. C. Kuan

Isatis tinctoria var. yezoensis (Ohwi) Ohwi

Isatis yezoensis Ohwi

Plant growing area

Isatis tinctoria originated perhaps from India. The species is spontaneous in North Africa, Europe (mostly in Mediterranean area) and Western Asia until Xinjiang (China).

It grows in fields, on roadsides at an altitude of 600-2800 m.

Use area in the manufacture of paper

China, Japan, Korea.

Plant cultivation and use

The genus Isatis includes 107 species in Europe and the Mediterranean area, 72 species in Asia.

Isatis tinctoria is a biennial herbaceous plant, 1m to 1.50m tall, with branched stem. It grows better in rich or calcareous soils and sunny lands.

The flowers are small, yellow and grow in clusters. Flowering occurs from May to June. The black fruits are oval.

The plant allows several harvests per year if the soil and sun exposure are good.

Indigo plants represent about one thousand species in the world. Isatis tinctoria is the indigo plant which was the most widely used.

The leaf also contains but in much smaller amount, an other glycoside capable of providing indoxyl, indican.
Blues are used as basis for greens and violets dyeing (purple imitation).

China:

It is a cultivated species, very popular throughout China in traditional medicine. The roots are dried and ground into granules that will be consumed as teas.

The plant is used as dye stuffs in particular for cotton fabrics and especially for dyeing silk.

The dye is used as basis for greens in combinaison with Sophora japonica or for blacks in combinaison with walnut (Juglans mandshurica Maxim., Juglans Regia L.).

Japan:

Indigo plants used in Japan are Indigofera tinctoria, Strobilanthes flaccidifolia, Isatis tinctoria and Polygonum tinctorium. The latter is the most frequently used in Japan.

The use by Ainu of Isatis tinctoria is very old, prior to the use of Knotweed (Polygonum tinctorium).

To obtain a light blue paper, it is possible to dye the pulp in the tank. To obtain an intense blue, the paper is colored by soaking in a dye bath.

Blue papers are used to cover books.

Korea:

It is a cultivated species. The dye is used as basis for greens.

Preparation process for making paper

China:

Sowing takes place in March or in October. Harvesting can be done several times in the year from June. The leaf is ripe when it begins to wilt, turn to yellow or purple.

The liquid is then collected and filtered. It is beaten to make him absorb oxygen and oxidize.

Precipitation is done by adding an alkali (caustic lime or ash lye). The deposit is washed, boiled and filtered. The paste, called indigo starch, is kept in mud. It is sold in this shape.

Japan:

The seeds are sown autumn. Harvesting starts when leaves are ripe in June. It is renewed every twenty days.

The liquid is then collected and filtered. It is beaten to make him absorb oxygen and oxidize. Precipitation is done by adding an alkali (caustic lime or ash lye).

The deposit is washed, boiled and filtered. The paste, called indigo starch, is then formed into cakes.

Korea:

Paper names

Japan:

Suffixes kami, gami, shi = paper.
In Japan kozo papers are the most numerous.

Korea:

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

Used part of the plant:

Leaf

Use for paper making:

Dye

Language:

English

Botanical classification

Isatis tinctoria L.

Order:

Brassicales

Family:

Brassicaceae

Synonyms:

Isatis indigotica Fortune

Isatis oblongata DC. var. yezoensis (Ohwi) Y. L. Chang

Isatis tinctoria var. indigotica (Fortune) T. Y. Cheo & K. C. Kuan

Isatis tinctoria var. yezoensis (Ohwi) Ohwi

Isatis yezoensis Ohwi

Plant growing area

Isatis tinctoria originated perhaps from India. The species is spontaneous in North Africa, Europe (mostly in Mediterranean area) and Western Asia until Xinjiang (China).

It grows in fields, on roadsides at an altitude of 600-2800 m.

Use area in the manufacture of paper

China, Japan, Korea.

Plant cultivation and use

The genus Isatis includes 107 species in Europe and the Mediterranean area, 72 species in Asia.

Isatis tinctoria is a biennial herbaceous plant, 1m to 1.50m tall, with branched stem. It grows better in rich or calcareous soils and sunny lands.

The flowers are small, yellow and grow in clusters. Flowering occurs from May to June. The black fruits are oval.

The plant allows several harvests per year if the soil and sun exposure are good.

Indigo plants represent about one thousand species in the world. Isatis tinctoria is the indigo plant which was the most widely used.

The leaf also contains but in much smaller amount, an other glycoside capable of providing indoxyl, indican.
Blues are used as basis for greens and violets dyeing (purple imitation).

China:

It is a cultivated species, very popular throughout China in traditional medicine. The roots are dried and ground into granules that will be consumed as teas.

The plant is used as dye stuffs in particular for cotton fabrics and especially for dyeing silk.

The dye is used as basis for greens in combinaison with Sophora japonica or for blacks in combinaison with walnut (Juglans mandshurica Maxim., Juglans Regia L.).

Japan:

Indigo plants used in Japan are Indigofera tinctoria, Strobilanthes flaccidifolia, Isatis tinctoria and Polygonum tinctorium. The latter is the most frequently used in Japan.

The use by Ainu of Isatis tinctoria is very old, prior to the use of Knotweed (Polygonum tinctorium).

To obtain a light blue paper, it is possible to dye the pulp in the tank. To obtain an intense blue, the paper is colored by soaking in a dye bath.

Blue papers are used to cover books.

Korea:

It is a cultivated species. The dye is used as basis for greens.

Preparation process for making paper

China:

Sowing takes place in March or in October. Harvesting can be done several times in the year from June. The leaf is ripe when it begins to wilt, turn to yellow or purple.

The liquid is then collected and filtered. It is beaten to make him absorb oxygen and oxidize.

Precipitation is done by adding an alkali (caustic lime or ash lye). The deposit is washed, boiled and filtered. The paste, called indigo starch, is kept in mud. It is sold in this shape.

Japan:

The seeds are sown autumn. Harvesting starts when leaves are ripe in June. It is renewed every twenty days.

The liquid is then collected and filtered. It is beaten to make him absorb oxygen and oxidize. Precipitation is done by adding an alkali (caustic lime or ash lye).

The deposit is washed, boiled and filtered. The paste, called indigo starch, is then formed into cakes.

Korea:

Paper names

Japan:

Suffixes kami, gami, shi = paper.
In Japan kozo papers are the most numerous.

Korea:

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

Used part of the plant:

Leaf

Use for paper making:

Dye

Language:

English

Botanical classification

Isatis tinctoria L.

Order:

Brassicales

Family:

Brassicaceae

Synonyms:

Isatis indigotica Fortune

Isatis oblongata DC. var. yezoensis (Ohwi) Y. L. Chang

Isatis tinctoria var. indigotica (Fortune) T. Y. Cheo & K. C. Kuan

Isatis tinctoria var. yezoensis (Ohwi) Ohwi

Isatis yezoensis Ohwi

Plant growing area

Isatis tinctoria originated perhaps from India. The species is spontaneous in North Africa, Europe (mostly in Mediterranean area) and Western Asia until Xinjiang (China).

It grows in fields, on roadsides at an altitude of 600-2800 m.

Use area in the manufacture of paper

China, Japan, Korea.

Plant cultivation and use

The genus Isatis includes 107 species in Europe and the Mediterranean area, 72 species in Asia.

Isatis tinctoria is a biennial herbaceous plant, 1m to 1.50m tall, with branched stem. It grows better in rich or calcareous soils and sunny lands.

The flowers are small, yellow and grow in clusters. Flowering occurs from May to June. The black fruits are oval.

The plant allows several harvests per year if the soil and sun exposure are good.

Indigo plants represent about one thousand species in the world. Isatis tinctoria is the indigo plant which was the most widely used.

The leaf also contains but in much smaller amount, an other glycoside capable of providing indoxyl, indican.
Blues are used as basis for greens and violets dyeing (purple imitation).

China:

It is a cultivated species, very popular throughout China in traditional medicine. The roots are dried and ground into granules that will be consumed as teas.

The plant is used as dye stuffs in particular for cotton fabrics and especially for dyeing silk.

The dye is used as basis for greens in combinaison with Sophora japonica or for blacks in combinaison with walnut (Juglans mandshurica Maxim., Juglans Regia L.).

Japan:

Indigo plants used in Japan are Indigofera tinctoria, Strobilanthes flaccidifolia, Isatis tinctoria and Polygonum tinctorium. The latter is the most frequently used in Japan.

The use by Ainu of Isatis tinctoria is very old, prior to the use of Knotweed (Polygonum tinctorium).

To obtain a light blue paper, it is possible to dye the pulp in the tank. To obtain an intense blue, the paper is colored by soaking in a dye bath.

Blue papers are used to cover books.

Korea:

It is a cultivated species. The dye is used as basis for greens.

Preparation process for making paper

China:

Sowing takes place in March or in October. Harvesting can be done several times in the year from June. The leaf is ripe when it begins to wilt, turn to yellow or purple.

The liquid is then collected and filtered. It is beaten to make him absorb oxygen and oxidize.

Precipitation is done by adding an alkali (caustic lime or ash lye). The deposit is washed, boiled and filtered. The paste, called indigo starch, is kept in mud. It is sold in this shape.

Japan:

The seeds are sown autumn. Harvesting starts when leaves are ripe in June. It is renewed every twenty days.

The liquid is then collected and filtered. It is beaten to make him absorb oxygen and oxidize. Precipitation is done by adding an alkali (caustic lime or ash lye).

The deposit is washed, boiled and filtered. The paste, called indigo starch, is then formed into cakes.

Korea:

Paper names

Japan:

Suffixes kami, gami, shi = paper.
In Japan kozo papers are the most numerous.

Korea:

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

Used part of the plant:

Leaf

Use for paper making:

Dye

Language:

French

Botanical classification

Isatis tinctoria L.

Order:

Brassicales

Family:

Brassicaceae

Synonyms:

Isatis indigotica Fortune

Isatis oblongata DC. var. yezoensis (Ohwi) Y. L. Chang

Isatis tinctoria var. indigotica (Fortune) T. Y. Cheo & K. C. Kuan

Isatis tinctoria var. yezoensis (Ohwi) Ohwi

Isatis yezoensis Ohwi

Plant growing area

Isatis tinctoria originated perhaps from India. The species is spontaneous in North Africa, Europe (mostly in Mediterranean area) and Western Asia until Xinjiang (China).

It grows in fields, on roadsides at an altitude of 600-2800 m.

Use area in the manufacture of paper

China, Japan, Korea.

Plant cultivation and use

The genus Isatis includes 107 species in Europe and the Mediterranean area, 72 species in Asia.

Isatis tinctoria is a biennial herbaceous plant, 1m to 1.50m tall, with branched stem. It grows better in rich or calcareous soils and sunny lands.

The flowers are small, yellow and grow in clusters. Flowering occurs from May to June. The black fruits are oval.

The plant allows several harvests per year if the soil and sun exposure are good.

Indigo plants represent about one thousand species in the world. Isatis tinctoria is the indigo plant which was the most widely used.

The leaf also contains but in much smaller amount, an other glycoside capable of providing indoxyl, indican.
Blues are used as basis for greens and violets dyeing (purple imitation).

China:

It is a cultivated species, very popular throughout China in traditional medicine. The roots are dried and ground into granules that will be consumed as teas.

The plant is used as dye stuffs in particular for cotton fabrics and especially for dyeing silk.

The dye is used as basis for greens in combinaison with Sophora japonica or for blacks in combinaison with walnut (Juglans mandshurica Maxim., Juglans Regia L.).

Japan:

Indigo plants used in Japan are Indigofera tinctoria, Strobilanthes flaccidifolia, Isatis tinctoria and Polygonum tinctorium. The latter is the most frequently used in Japan.

The use by Ainu of Isatis tinctoria is very old, prior to the use of Knotweed (Polygonum tinctorium).

To obtain a light blue paper, it is possible to dye the pulp in the tank. To obtain an intense blue, the paper is colored by soaking in a dye bath.

Blue papers are used to cover books.

Korea:

It is a cultivated species. The dye is used as basis for greens.

Preparation process for making paper

China:

Sowing takes place in March or in October. Harvesting can be done several times in the year from June. The leaf is ripe when it begins to wilt, turn to yellow or purple.

The liquid is then collected and filtered. It is beaten to make him absorb oxygen and oxidize.

Precipitation is done by adding an alkali (caustic lime or ash lye). The deposit is washed, boiled and filtered. The paste, called indigo starch, is kept in mud. It is sold in this shape.

Japan:

The seeds are sown autumn. Harvesting starts when leaves are ripe in June. It is renewed every twenty days.

The liquid is then collected and filtered. It is beaten to make him absorb oxygen and oxidize. Precipitation is done by adding an alkali (caustic lime or ash lye).

The deposit is washed, boiled and filtered. The paste, called indigo starch, is then formed into cakes.

Korea:

Paper names

Japan:

Suffixes kami, gami, shi = paper.
In Japan kozo papers are the most numerous.

Korea:

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

Used part of the plant:

Leaf

Use for paper making:

Dye

Language:

Chinese

Local scripture:

菘蓝

Botanical classification

Isatis tinctoria L.

Order:

Brassicales

Family:

Brassicaceae

Synonyms:

Isatis indigotica Fortune

Isatis oblongata DC. var. yezoensis (Ohwi) Y. L. Chang

Isatis tinctoria var. indigotica (Fortune) T. Y. Cheo & K. C. Kuan

Isatis tinctoria var. yezoensis (Ohwi) Ohwi

Isatis yezoensis Ohwi

Plant growing area

Isatis tinctoria originated perhaps from India. The species is spontaneous in North Africa, Europe (mostly in Mediterranean area) and Western Asia until Xinjiang (China).

It grows in fields, on roadsides at an altitude of 600-2800 m.

Use area in the manufacture of paper

China, Japan, Korea.

Plant cultivation and use

The genus Isatis includes 107 species in Europe and the Mediterranean area, 72 species in Asia.

Isatis tinctoria is a biennial herbaceous plant, 1m to 1.50m tall, with branched stem. It grows better in rich or calcareous soils and sunny lands.

The flowers are small, yellow and grow in clusters. Flowering occurs from May to June. The black fruits are oval.

The plant allows several harvests per year if the soil and sun exposure are good.

Indigo plants represent about one thousand species in the world. Isatis tinctoria is the indigo plant which was the most widely used.

The leaf also contains but in much smaller amount, an other glycoside capable of providing indoxyl, indican.
Blues are used as basis for greens and violets dyeing (purple imitation).

China:

It is a cultivated species, very popular throughout China in traditional medicine. The roots are dried and ground into granules that will be consumed as teas.

The plant is used as dye stuffs in particular for cotton fabrics and especially for dyeing silk.

The dye is used as basis for greens in combinaison with Sophora japonica or for blacks in combinaison with walnut (Juglans mandshurica Maxim., Juglans Regia L.).

Japan:

Indigo plants used in Japan are Indigofera tinctoria, Strobilanthes flaccidifolia, Isatis tinctoria and Polygonum tinctorium. The latter is the most frequently used in Japan.

The use by Ainu of Isatis tinctoria is very old, prior to the use of Knotweed (Polygonum tinctorium).

To obtain a light blue paper, it is possible to dye the pulp in the tank. To obtain an intense blue, the paper is colored by soaking in a dye bath.

Blue papers are used to cover books.

Korea:

It is a cultivated species. The dye is used as basis for greens.

Preparation process for making paper

China:

Sowing takes place in March or in October. Harvesting can be done several times in the year from June. The leaf is ripe when it begins to wilt, turn to yellow or purple.

The liquid is then collected and filtered. It is beaten to make him absorb oxygen and oxidize.

Precipitation is done by adding an alkali (caustic lime or ash lye). The deposit is washed, boiled and filtered. The paste, called indigo starch, is kept in mud. It is sold in this shape.

Japan:

The seeds are sown autumn. Harvesting starts when leaves are ripe in June. It is renewed every twenty days.

The liquid is then collected and filtered. It is beaten to make him absorb oxygen and oxidize. Precipitation is done by adding an alkali (caustic lime or ash lye).

The deposit is washed, boiled and filtered. The paste, called indigo starch, is then formed into cakes.

Korea:

Paper names

Japan:

Suffixes kami, gami, shi = paper.
In Japan kozo papers are the most numerous.

Korea:

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

Used part of the plant:

Leaf

Use for paper making:

Dye

Language:

Chinese

Local scripture:

板蓝根

Botanical classification

Isatis tinctoria L.

Order:

Brassicales

Family:

Brassicaceae

Synonyms:

Isatis indigotica Fortune

Isatis oblongata DC. var. yezoensis (Ohwi) Y. L. Chang

Isatis tinctoria var. indigotica (Fortune) T. Y. Cheo & K. C. Kuan

Isatis tinctoria var. yezoensis (Ohwi) Ohwi

Isatis yezoensis Ohwi

Plant growing area

Isatis tinctoria originated perhaps from India. The species is spontaneous in North Africa, Europe (mostly in Mediterranean area) and Western Asia until Xinjiang (China).

It grows in fields, on roadsides at an altitude of 600-2800 m.

Use area in the manufacture of paper

China, Japan, Korea.

Plant cultivation and use

The genus Isatis includes 107 species in Europe and the Mediterranean area, 72 species in Asia.

Isatis tinctoria is a biennial herbaceous plant, 1m to 1.50m tall, with branched stem. It grows better in rich or calcareous soils and sunny lands.

The flowers are small, yellow and grow in clusters. Flowering occurs from May to June. The black fruits are oval.

The plant allows several harvests per year if the soil and sun exposure are good.

Indigo plants represent about one thousand species in the world. Isatis tinctoria is the indigo plant which was the most widely used.

The leaf also contains but in much smaller amount, an other glycoside capable of providing indoxyl, indican.
Blues are used as basis for greens and violets dyeing (purple imitation).

China:

It is a cultivated species, very popular throughout China in traditional medicine. The roots are dried and ground into granules that will be consumed as teas.

The plant is used as dye stuffs in particular for cotton fabrics and especially for dyeing silk.

The dye is used as basis for greens in combinaison with Sophora japonica or for blacks in combinaison with walnut (Juglans mandshurica Maxim., Juglans Regia L.).

Japan:

Indigo plants used in Japan are Indigofera tinctoria, Strobilanthes flaccidifolia, Isatis tinctoria and Polygonum tinctorium. The latter is the most frequently used in Japan.

The use by Ainu of Isatis tinctoria is very old, prior to the use of Knotweed (Polygonum tinctorium).

To obtain a light blue paper, it is possible to dye the pulp in the tank. To obtain an intense blue, the paper is colored by soaking in a dye bath.

Blue papers are used to cover books.

Korea:

It is a cultivated species. The dye is used as basis for greens.

Preparation process for making paper

China:

Sowing takes place in March or in October. Harvesting can be done several times in the year from June. The leaf is ripe when it begins to wilt, turn to yellow or purple.

The liquid is then collected and filtered. It is beaten to make him absorb oxygen and oxidize.

Precipitation is done by adding an alkali (caustic lime or ash lye). The deposit is washed, boiled and filtered. The paste, called indigo starch, is kept in mud. It is sold in this shape.

Japan:

The seeds are sown autumn. Harvesting starts when leaves are ripe in June. It is renewed every twenty days.

The liquid is then collected and filtered. It is beaten to make him absorb oxygen and oxidize. Precipitation is done by adding an alkali (caustic lime or ash lye).

The deposit is washed, boiled and filtered. The paste, called indigo starch, is then formed into cakes.

Korea:

Paper names

Japan:

Suffixes kami, gami, shi = paper.
In Japan kozo papers are the most numerous.

Korea:

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

Used part of the plant:

Leaf

Use for paper making:

Dye

Language:

English

Firmiana simplex (L.) W. Wight © Flora of China

Firmiana simplex (L.) W. Wight © C. Laroque

Botanical classification

Firmiana simplex (L.) W. Wight

Order:

Malvales

Family:

Sterculiaceae

Synonyms:

Firmiana platanifolia R. Br.

Hibiscus simplex L.

Sterculia platanifolia L. f.

Sterculia urens Roxb.

Plant growing area

China (Anhui, Fujian, Guangdong, Guangxi, Guizhou, Hainan, Hubei, Hunan, Jiangsu, Jiangxi, Shaanxi, Shandong, Shanxi, Sichuan, Yunnan, Zhejiang), Japan,Taiwan.

Widely cultivated in China.

Use area in the manufacture of paper

China, Japan.

Japan:

Shikoku (Kochi and Ehime prefectures).

Plant cultivation and use

Fimiana simplex is a deciduous tree up to 16m high.

The wood is used in the manufacture of musical instruments in China. Its leaves are used as a substitute to tobacco.

A mucilage is extracted from the bark which is used as formation aid in paper making. This viscous material is added to the pulp to increase its viscosity and thus delay the settling of fibers in the tank. In addition, the mucilage allows a better dispersion of the long fibers.

Used part of the plant:

Bark

Use for paper making:

Formation aid

Primary tabs

Isatis tinctoria L.

Isatis tinctoria L.

Isatis tinctoria L.

Isatis tinctoria L.

Isatis tinctoria L.

Isatis tinctoria L.

Isatis tinctoria L.

Isatis tinctoria L.

Isatis tinctoria L.

Firmiana simplex (L.) W. Wight

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Isatis tinctoria L.

Isatis tinctoria L.

Isatis tinctoria L.

Isatis tinctoria L.

Isatis tinctoria L.

Isatis tinctoria L.

Isatis tinctoria L.

Isatis tinctoria L.

Isatis tinctoria L.

Firmiana simplex (L.) W. Wight

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