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Wisteria floribunda (willd.) DC © Flora of China

Wisteria floribunda (willd.) DC © T.H. Choi

Identification

Fibre type	Bast fiber
Average fibre lenght	1,7 mm (0.9 – 2.6)
Average fibre width	17,5 µm (9.3 – 24.8)
Fibre ends	Blunt.
Striations, cross-markings, flexion creases	Les prominent fiber wall; no cross-marking.
Associated cells
Special features
Herzberg staining	Purple.
Graff 'C' staining	Yellow.

Botanical classification

Wisteria floribunda (willd.) DC

Order:

Fabales

Family:

Fabaceae

Synonyms:

Glycine floribunda Willd.

Kraunhia floribunda (Willd.) Taub.

Phaseolodes floribundum (Willd.) Kuntze

Rehsonia floribunda (Willd.) Stritch

Plant growing area

China (Anhui, Fujian, Gansu, Guangdong, Guangxi, Hainan, Henan, Hebei, Hubei, Hunan, Jiangsu, Jiangxi, Shaanxi, Shandong, Sichuan, Xinjiang, Yunnan, Zhejiang), Japan (Honshu, Shikoku, Kyushu), Korea,Taiwan.

Use area in the manufacture of paper

China, Korea.

Plant cultivation and use

Wisteria floribunda is a deciduous woody liana. It prefers moist soils and full sun.

Lianas can reach 30m length. Blooming takes place in early spring. Flowers which forms grapes reaching 50cm length, are pale purple. Fruits are poisonous but edible after cooking. Flowers are also eaten and leaves are used to make tea. Seeds have diuretic properties.

Fibers from the stems are long and are used to make a paper with a buff color.

China:

Wisteria floribunda fibers were used in China long before in Korea.

The use of Wisteria floribunda is popular in the Sui dynasty (581-618), the Five Dynasties (581-960) and Tang dynasty (618-907). It disappears after the Tang period because its growth is slow and the quantities obtained were scarce.

The use of the plant is cited in "Yunju Mishu" or "Rare Books of Yunju", text written during the Song Dynasty (960-1279) which provides guidance on raw materials used in the manufacture of paper and provinces where they are used.

Korea:

From the Joseon period (1392-1910), raw materials traditionally used for paper production, mainly bark of Broussonetias begin to fail. Papermakers face to a growing demand for paper stimulated by the development of publications initiated during the Goryeo period (907-1392). Other plants will be used to provide a fiber supplement such as glycine, rice, oat and barley straws, bamboo, jute, cotton and hemp but also willow leaves, reeds, the bark and needles of pine.
Wisteria floribunda seems to have been used very early, since the Goryeo period.

Wisteria is used alone or mixed with Broussonetia Kazinoki, for the manufacture of paper devoted to white fans as the paper has a very smooth surface.

Preparation process for making paper

Korea:

Stems are harvested in summer. After removing the leaves they are steamed. They are cooked for 3 hours in alkaline lye. They are then crushed in a mill or a mortar.

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.

Used part of the plant:

Bark

Use for paper making:

Fiber

Language:

Japanese

Local scripture:

フジ　

Identification

Fibre type	Bast fiber
Average fibre lenght	1,7 mm (0.9 – 2.6)
Average fibre width	17,5 µm (9.3 – 24.8)
Fibre ends	Blunt.
Striations, cross-markings, flexion creases	Les prominent fiber wall; no cross-marking.
Associated cells
Special features
Herzberg staining	Purple.
Graff 'C' staining	Yellow.

Botanical classification

Wisteria floribunda (willd.) DC

Order:

Fabales

Family:

Fabaceae

Synonyms:

Glycine floribunda Willd.

Kraunhia floribunda (Willd.) Taub.

Phaseolodes floribundum (Willd.) Kuntze

Rehsonia floribunda (Willd.) Stritch

Plant growing area

Use area in the manufacture of paper

China, Korea.

Plant cultivation and use

Wisteria floribunda is a deciduous woody liana. It prefers moist soils and full sun.

Fibers from the stems are long and are used to make a paper with a buff color.

China:

Wisteria floribunda fibers were used in China long before in Korea.

Korea:

Wisteria is used alone or mixed with Broussonetia Kazinoki, for the manufacture of paper devoted to white fans as the paper has a very smooth surface.

Preparation process for making paper

Korea:

Stems are harvested in summer. After removing the leaves they are steamed. They are cooked for 3 hours in alkaline lye. They are then crushed in a mill or a mortar.

Paper names

Korea:

Suffix ji = paper.

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

Used part of the plant:

Bark

Use for paper making:

Fiber

Language:

English

Identification

Fibre type	Bast fiber
Average fibre lenght	1,7 mm (0.9 – 2.6)
Average fibre width	17,5 µm (9.3 – 24.8)
Fibre ends	Blunt.
Striations, cross-markings, flexion creases	Les prominent fiber wall; no cross-marking.
Associated cells
Special features
Herzberg staining	Purple.
Graff 'C' staining	Yellow.

Botanical classification

Wisteria floribunda (willd.) DC

Order:

Fabales

Family:

Fabaceae

Synonyms:

Glycine floribunda Willd.

Kraunhia floribunda (Willd.) Taub.

Phaseolodes floribundum (Willd.) Kuntze

Rehsonia floribunda (Willd.) Stritch

Plant growing area

Use area in the manufacture of paper

China, Korea.

Plant cultivation and use

Wisteria floribunda is a deciduous woody liana. It prefers moist soils and full sun.

Fibers from the stems are long and are used to make a paper with a buff color.

China:

Wisteria floribunda fibers were used in China long before in Korea.

Korea:

Wisteria is used alone or mixed with Broussonetia Kazinoki, for the manufacture of paper devoted to white fans as the paper has a very smooth surface.

Preparation process for making paper

Korea:

Stems are harvested in summer. After removing the leaves they are steamed. They are cooked for 3 hours in alkaline lye. They are then crushed in a mill or a mortar.

Paper names

Korea:

Suffix ji = paper.

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

Used part of the plant:

Bark

Use for paper making:

Fiber

Language:

Chinese

Local scripture:

檀皮

Dalbergia hupeana Hance © Plantillustrations

Dalbergia hupeana Hance © CFH Nature Museum

Identification

Fibre type
Average fibre lenght
Average fibre width
Fibre ends
Striations, cross-markings, flexion creases
Associated cells
Special features
Herzberg staining
Graff 'C' staining

Botanical classification

Dalbergia hupeana Hance

Order:

Fabales

Family:

Fabaceae

Synonyms:

Dalbergia hupeana var. bauhiniifolia Pamp.

Dalbergia sacerdotum Prain

Plant growing area

Endemic in China (Anhui, Fujian, Guangdong, Guangxi, Henan, Hubei, Hunan, Jiangsu, Jiangxi, Shandong, Shanxi, Sichuan, Yunnan, Zhejiang).

Grows in forests, on mountain slopes, by streams, between 800 to 1400 m.

Use area in the manufacture of paper

China.

Plant cultivation and use

Dalbergia hupeana is a tree, 10-20 m tall. There are some hundreds species of Dalbergia which are exploited for their hardwood and essential oils they contain. These oils confer them insecticides and medicinal properties (antiphlogistic).

China:

Hardwood tree that grew first in the department of Xuanzheng (Anhui).

The bark of sandalwood called tanpi was the main material for manufacturing Xuan paper.

During the Later Han Dynasty, it would be discovered by accident that it could be used to make paper.

Preparation process for making paper

China:

The tree is cut during the winter and cut into pieces. These pieces are placed in a steamer and the bark is peeled. It is washed with water and then mixed with lime for 10 or 20 days. When the bark is half softened, it was beaten with a foot hammer or a water wheel grinder. The beating is repeated 3 or 4 times to get the right consistency and the pulp can be used to form the sheets.

Paper names

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.

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.

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

Dye

Language:

Chinese

Local scripture:

多花紫藤

日本紫藤

Identification

Fibre type	Bast fiber
Average fibre lenght	1,7 mm (0.9 – 2.6)
Average fibre width	17,5 µm (9.3 – 24.8)
Fibre ends	Blunt.
Striations, cross-markings, flexion creases	Les prominent fiber wall; no cross-marking.
Associated cells
Special features
Herzberg staining	Purple.
Graff 'C' staining	Yellow.

Botanical classification

Wisteria floribunda (willd.) DC

Order:

Fabales

Family:

Fabaceae

Synonyms:

Glycine floribunda Willd.

Kraunhia floribunda (Willd.) Taub.

Phaseolodes floribundum (Willd.) Kuntze

Rehsonia floribunda (Willd.) Stritch

Plant growing area

Use area in the manufacture of paper

China, Korea.

Plant cultivation and use

Wisteria floribunda is a deciduous woody liana. It prefers moist soils and full sun.

Fibers from the stems are long and are used to make a paper with a buff color.

China:

Wisteria floribunda fibers were used in China long before in Korea.

Korea:

Wisteria is used alone or mixed with Broussonetia Kazinoki, for the manufacture of paper devoted to white fans as the paper has a very smooth surface.

Preparation process for making paper

Korea:

Stems are harvested in summer. After removing the leaves they are steamed. They are cooked for 3 hours in alkaline lye. They are then crushed in a mill or a mortar.

Paper names

Korea:

Suffix ji = paper.

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

Used part of the plant:

Bark

Use for paper making:

Fiber

Language:

French

Prunus mume (Siebold) Siebold & Zucc. © Flora of China

Prunus mume (Siebold) Siebold & Zucc. © Plantillustrations

Botanical classification

Prunus mume (Siebold) Siebold & Zucc.

Order:

Rosales

Family:

Rosaceae

Synonyms:

Armeniaca mume var. mume

Plant growing area

China (Native to Sichuan and Yunnan; cultivated throughout most of China), Japan, Korea, North Laos, Taiwan, North Vietnam. Commonly cultivated in these countries.

Grows on forested slopes, on stream sides, along trails, at an altitude from 1700 to 3100 m.

Use area in the manufacture of paper

China, Japan, Korea.

Plant cultivation and use

Prunus mume is a deciduous tree, 4 to 6 meters high. It is a rustic hard pit fruit tree considered as intermediate between plum and apricot. Flowering occurs in early spring, the flowers are white or pink and very fragrant. It prefers hot and humid climate and a sunny exposure. It has a life span of several centuries.

Its cultivation has spread for ornamental purposes throughout the Far East, where it is associated to art and literature. There are about 300 ornamental cultivars. Flowering of Prunus mume is celebrated throughout the Far East.

The fruits are eaten in all kinds of shape in China, Japan and Korea: sauces, syrups, liquors, vinegar, the most common being the "salted plums" which have antiseptic and restorative properties. They also have medicinal properties: the use of mei fruit is mentioned in the Shennong bencao jing or Classic of the Materia Medica of the Heavenly plowman, compilation of pharmacopoeia texts dating from the beginning of our era. They are effective for the treatment of cough, diarrhea, and for the removal of intestinal parasites.

A pink, brown-violet dye, can be obtained from the fruit. The color varies according to the type of mordant: pale pink with alum, purple brown with iron salts.

China:

The tree and its flower are responsible for many symbols in the Confucianism: values of virtue and perseverance but also transience of life because of a beautiful but ephemeral flowering. In the literature, poetry and the arts mei is the symbol of winter and the arrival of spring and therefore perseverance and hope.
It is grown in orchards in the Yangtze valley or potted as bonsais.

Japan:

Buddhism introduced to Japan in the 6th-7th centuries, brought with it Prunus mume.
Blooms are subject in Japan to hanami which means looking at flowers. Ume were the most popular for hanami during the Nara period (710-794), but they will be overtaken by the cherrytrees since the Heian period (794-1185).

The dye is used for kesa, dress of Buddhist monks and nuns.

Korea:

In Korea, the plum blossom is a symbol for spring. It is a popular flower motif for embroidery.

Preparation process for making paper

Japan:

Fruit juice added with lime water or rice vinegar is used.

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 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

Korea:

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

Used part of the plant:

Fruit

Use for paper making:

Dye

Language:

Japanese

Local scripture:

うめ

Synonym:

梅

Botanical classification

Prunus mume (Siebold) Siebold & Zucc.

Order:

Rosales

Family:

Rosaceae

Synonyms:

Armeniaca mume var. mume

Plant growing area

China (Native to Sichuan and Yunnan; cultivated throughout most of China), Japan, Korea, North Laos, Taiwan, North Vietnam. Commonly cultivated in these countries.

Grows on forested slopes, on stream sides, along trails, at an altitude from 1700 to 3100 m.

Use area in the manufacture of paper

China, Japan, Korea.

Plant cultivation and use

A pink, brown-violet dye, can be obtained from the fruit. The color varies according to the type of mordant: pale pink with alum, purple brown with iron salts.

China:

Japan:

The dye is used for kesa, dress of Buddhist monks and nuns.

Korea:

In Korea, the plum blossom is a symbol for spring. It is a popular flower motif for embroidery.

Preparation process for making paper

Japan:

Fruit juice added with lime water or rice vinegar is used.

Korea:

Paper names

Korea:

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

Used part of the plant:

Fruit

Use for paper making:

Dye

Language:

Chinese

Local scripture:

梅

Botanical classification

Prunus mume (Siebold) Siebold & Zucc.

Order:

Rosales

Family:

Rosaceae

Synonyms:

Armeniaca mume var. mume

Plant growing area

China (Native to Sichuan and Yunnan; cultivated throughout most of China), Japan, Korea, North Laos, Taiwan, North Vietnam. Commonly cultivated in these countries.

Grows on forested slopes, on stream sides, along trails, at an altitude from 1700 to 3100 m.

Use area in the manufacture of paper

China, Japan, Korea.

Plant cultivation and use

A pink, brown-violet dye, can be obtained from the fruit. The color varies according to the type of mordant: pale pink with alum, purple brown with iron salts.

China:

Japan:

The dye is used for kesa, dress of Buddhist monks and nuns.

Korea:

In Korea, the plum blossom is a symbol for spring. It is a popular flower motif for embroidery.

Preparation process for making paper

Japan:

Fruit juice added with lime water or rice vinegar is used.

Korea:

Paper names

Korea:

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

Used part of the plant:

Fruit

Use for paper making:

Dye

Language:

English

Botanical classification

Prunus mume (Siebold) Siebold & Zucc.

Order:

Rosales

Family:

Rosaceae

Synonyms:

Armeniaca mume var. mume

Plant growing area

China (Native to Sichuan and Yunnan; cultivated throughout most of China), Japan, Korea, North Laos, Taiwan, North Vietnam. Commonly cultivated in these countries.

Grows on forested slopes, on stream sides, along trails, at an altitude from 1700 to 3100 m.

Use area in the manufacture of paper

China, Japan, Korea.

Plant cultivation and use

A pink, brown-violet dye, can be obtained from the fruit. The color varies according to the type of mordant: pale pink with alum, purple brown with iron salts.

China:

Japan:

The dye is used for kesa, dress of Buddhist monks and nuns.

Korea:

In Korea, the plum blossom is a symbol for spring. It is a popular flower motif for embroidery.

Preparation process for making paper

Japan:

Fruit juice added with lime water or rice vinegar is used.

Korea:

Paper names

Korea:

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

Used part of the plant:

Fruit

Use for paper making:

Dye

Language:

French

Botanical classification

Prunus mume (Siebold) Siebold & Zucc.

Order:

Rosales

Family:

Rosaceae

Synonyms:

Armeniaca mume var. mume

Plant growing area

China (Native to Sichuan and Yunnan; cultivated throughout most of China), Japan, Korea, North Laos, Taiwan, North Vietnam. Commonly cultivated in these countries.

Grows on forested slopes, on stream sides, along trails, at an altitude from 1700 to 3100 m.

Use area in the manufacture of paper

China, Japan, Korea.

Plant cultivation and use

A pink, brown-violet dye, can be obtained from the fruit. The color varies according to the type of mordant: pale pink with alum, purple brown with iron salts.

China:

Japan:

The dye is used for kesa, dress of Buddhist monks and nuns.

Korea:

In Korea, the plum blossom is a symbol for spring. It is a popular flower motif for embroidery.

Preparation process for making paper

Japan:

Fruit juice added with lime water or rice vinegar is used.

Korea:

Paper names

Korea:

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

Used part of the plant:

Fruit

Use for paper making:

Dye

Primary tabs

Wisteria floribunda (willd.) DC

Wisteria floribunda (willd.) DC

Wisteria floribunda (willd.) DC

Dalbergia hupeana Hance

Wisteria floribunda (willd.) DC

Prunus mume (Siebold) Siebold & Zucc.

Prunus mume (Siebold) Siebold & Zucc.

Prunus mume (Siebold) Siebold & Zucc.

Prunus mume (Siebold) Siebold & Zucc.

Prunus mume (Siebold) Siebold & Zucc.

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Primary tabs

Wisteria floribunda (willd.) DC

Wisteria floribunda (willd.) DC

Wisteria floribunda (willd.) DC

Dalbergia hupeana Hance

Wisteria floribunda (willd.) DC

Prunus mume (Siebold) Siebold & Zucc.

Prunus mume (Siebold) Siebold & Zucc.

Prunus mume (Siebold) Siebold & Zucc.

Prunus mume (Siebold) Siebold & Zucc.

Prunus mume (Siebold) Siebold & Zucc.

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