Broussonetia papyrifera

Paper mulberry is in the mulberry or Moraceae family and is native to many countries in Asia from Japan, Korea and China to India. It now also is widely cultivated elsewhere and grows to be a small tree up to 12 m tall.

The pulp from the inner bark of the paper mulberry tree is extracted and pounded to make paper mulberry paper, a very high quality, strong, light weight, exceptionally pure, translucent paper used by paper and painting conservators in repair and lamination. It also traditionally has been used for making paper in many parts of Asia for thousands of years, and for instance, by the Japanese for paper for origami and for making woodblock prints.

• Leaves are alternate, sometimes opposite, about 15 to 20 cm long, very variable in shape, with even each leaf being half- lobed and unlobed; the leaves usually have toothed edges, are lightly hairy, have pale undersides and a rough texture.
• The species is dioecious. Staminate (male) flowers in April form fuzzy, drooping catkins up to 8 cm long. The pistillate (female) flower head is up to about 2 cm wide with greenish female flowers.
• If pollinated, flowers on female trees bear red or orange aggregate fruits (drupes) in balls.