Aphananthe aspera

Aphananthe aspera
Not evaluated (IUCN 2.3)
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae
(unranked): Angiosperms
(unranked): Eudicots
(unranked): Rosids
Order: Rosales
Family: Cannabaceae
Genus: Aphananthe
Species: A. aspera
Binomial name
Aphananthe aspera
Thunb.

Aphananthe aspera (English: Muku Tree (from Japanese); Japanese: 椋の木 muku-no-ki "muku tree"; Chinese: 糙叶树) is a flowering plant. It is found on slopes and stream banks between 100 and 1600 m. It is native to the Anhui, Fujian, Guangdong, Guangxi, Guizhou, Hubei, Hunan, Jiangsu, Jiangxi, Shaanxi, Shandong, Shanxi, Sichuan, Yunnan, Zhejiang provinces of China, and Taiwan. It also is found in Japan, Korea, and Vietnam.[1]

Uses

It is used as an ornamental plant in Chinese classical gardens. Aphananthe aspera is a source of fibre and wood, and has been used for making paper. Leaves gathered in autumn are used as a fine sandpaper for polishing wood and similar materials.[2] It is not clear from the sources referred to, whether the effectiveness of the leaves as sandpaper depends on their roughness, or whether they contain abrasive phytoliths.

Notes

  1. eflora, 2009
  2. Anon, Nature, August 7 1884, pp 337-338

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Aphananthe aspera.
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This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the 10/16/2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.