Flora of the Hawaiian Islands
Dicotyledon Literature for Broussonetia papyrifera
Wagner et al., 1990, 1999; Lorence & Wagner, 2020.
   Moraceae -- The Mulberry Family Bibliography
      Broussonetia papyrifera

Common name(s): paper mulberry, po`a`aha, wauke
General Information
DistributionNative to China and Japan, also probably Myanmar and Thailand, spread early through cultivation for its fibrous bark throughout Malesia and the Pacific Islands.In the Hawaiian Islands, a Polynesian introduction on Ni`ihau, Kaua`i, O`ahu, Moloka`i, Lana`i, Maui, Kaho`olawe, Hawai`i.
















Habit
Fast-growing shrub or shrubby tree to ca. 5(‒10) m tall; branches hirsute.
Leaves
Leaves petiolate; blade ovate, usually 5‒20 cm long, 8‒12 cm wide, adaxial surface scabrous, abaxial surface soft pubescent, unlobed or variously 1‒5-lobed, often with much variation on a single plant, apex acuminate, base rounded to cordate; petiole 3‒6 cm long; stipules ovate to broadly lanceolate, 0.5‒1.5 cm long.
Flowers
Staminate inflorescences spicate, ca. 3‒8 cm long; pistillate inflorescences globose, ca. 1‒1.2 cm in diameter, clavate bracts ca. 2 mm long exserted from the clusters.
Fruit
Mature fruit and seed not observed.
Chromosomes
2n = 26.
Notes
Bark from the stems was used for cordage and tapa cloth.
Contributor
Nancy Khan