When I was walking in Taiwan, I saw plants with cute orange-red, ball-shaped fruits growing by the roadside. After I went home and searched on the internet, I found out that they were Paper Mulberries. This plant has several interesting common names (note: these names are based on my own translation from a Chinese website, so they may not be official), such as "Banknotes Tree" (the bark can be used to make paper and print banknotes), "Dang Dang Tree" (because the ball-shaped fruits resemble jingle bells), and "Deer Tree" (the tender leaves can be fed to deer). Don’t underestimate this humble plant—it's full of treasures. Ancient Austronesians have long used its bark to make cloth for clothing. The bark can also be used to make paper, banknotes, or rope. Its wood can be used to make furniture and utensils. The fruit can be eaten directly or made into jam. The leaves can be used to make tea or to feed animals. Its various parts also have medicinal properties in traditional medicine. Due to its strong reproductive ability and rapid growth, it's a great tree for landscaping. However, it is also considered an invasive species in some areas for the same reason.
在臺灣散步時，我看到有很可愛橘紅色球狀果實的植物，大片的長在路旁，回家查了才知道是構樹。它有幾個有趣的俗名，像是鈔票樹(樹皮可用來造紙及印製鈔票)、噹噹樹 (圓形的果實像叮噹般掛滿整棵樹)、及鹿仔樹(農業時期養鹿人家，採下嫩葉來餵鹿)。別小看這不起眼的植物，它全身上下都是寶。古代南島人早已開始用它的樹皮製作樹皮布來做衣物，它的樹皮還可以用來造紙或作紙鈔以及繩索。它的木材可用於製作家具和器皿。它的果實可直接食用或製成果醬。葉片可用來煮茶或餵養動物。它的各部分在傳統醫學上也有醫療作用。由於自生繁衍能力强，生長迅速，是很好的綠化用樹，但是也因同樣的原因在某些地區被視為入侵物種。
Notes 筆記
- The paper mulberry (Broussonetia papyrifera, syn. Morus papyrifera L.) is a species in the family Moraceae. It is native to Asia, where its range includes Taiwan, China, Japan, Korea, Southeast Asia, Burma, and India.
- Other common names include tapa cloth tree. (Note: the following common names coming from Chinese website so the translations may not be official. ) Banknotes tree (due to high quality of fiber, it can be used to print banknotes), Dang dang tree (because of the ball-shaped fruits looking like jingle bells), Deer tree (the tender leaf can feed deer).
- Paper mulberry was used among ancient Austronesians in making bark cloth. It originates from subtropical regions in mainland Asia and is one of the best examples for the mainstream “Out of Taiwan” hypothesis of the Austronesian expansion.
- Paper mulberry is a deciduous shrub or tree. The leaves are variable in shape, even on one individual. The blades may be lobed or unlobed, but they usually have toothed edges, lightly hairy, pale undersides, and a rough texture. It has male and female flowers on separate plants. The staminate inflorescence is a catkin up to 3.1 in with fuzzy male flowers. The pistillate inflorescence is a spherical head up to about 0.79 in wide with greenish female flowers trailing long styles. The infructescence is a spherical cluster containing many red or orange fruits. Sweet and juicy like a strawberry when ripe, it often attracts birds, insects, and butterflies to feed. Each individual protruding fruit in the cluster is a drupe.
- Paper mulberry has been cultivated in Asia and some Pacific Islands for many centuries for food, fiber, and medicine.
- It is primarily used in the Pacific Islands to make barkcloth. Barkcloth was mainly used for clothing among ancient Austronesians.
- It is a significant fiber crop in the history of paper. It was used for papermaking in China starting some time between the 2nd and 8th century. Washi, a Japanese handcrafted paper, and hanji, a Korean paper, are products of the bark of Paper mulberry.
- The wood of the plant is useful for making furniture and utensils, and the roots can be used as rope. The fruit and cooked leaves are edible. The fruit, leaves, and bark have been used in systems of traditional medicine. The species is used as an ornamental plant. It tolerates disturbance and air pollution, so it has been useful as a landscaping plant on roadsides. It is easily fills forest clearings, and it has been considered for reforestation efforts. It grows well in many climate types.
- The ability of the plant to readily colonize available habitat has helped it become an invasive species in some regions.
- 構樹是桑科的一種。 它原產於亞洲，包括台灣、中國、日本、韓國、東南亞、緬甸和印度。
- 其他俗名包括塔帕布樹、楮樹、榖樹、鈔票樹(樹皮含有很高的纖維質可用來造紙，因為質地優良可用於印製鈔票)、奶樹、噹噹樹 (圓形的果實像叮噹般掛滿整棵樹)、紙木 ，在臺灣又俗稱鹿仔樹(農業時期養鹿人家，採下嫩葉來餵鹿)。
- 古代南島人使用構樹製作樹皮布。它起源於亞洲大陸的亞熱帶地區，是南島擴張主流“走出台灣”假說的最佳例證之一。
- 構樹是落葉灌木或喬木。葉子的形狀各不相同，即使在同一棵樹上也是如此。 葉片可能有裂片或無裂片，但它們通常有鋸齒狀的邊緣、輕微的毛、灰白的底面和粗糙的紋理。雌雄異株。雄蕊花序是長達 3.1 英寸的柔荑花序，有著毛茸茸的雄花。 雌蕊花序是一個球形頭狀花序，寬約0.79 英寸，帶有綠色雌花尾隨長花柱。 果序是球形簇，有許多紅色或橙色的果實，成熟時像草苺般甜美多汁，常吸引鳥類、昆蟲、蝴蝶前來覓食。每個突出的果實都是核果。
- 幾個世紀以來，亞洲和一些太平洋島嶼一直在種植構樹作為食物、纖維和藥物。
- 它主要用於太平洋島嶼製作樹皮布。樹皮布主要用於古代南島人的服裝。
- 它是造紙史上重要的纖維作物。 從 2 世紀到 8 世紀，它開始在中國用於造紙(漢皮紙/桑皮紙）。日本的和紙和韓國的紙也都是用構樹製成的。
- 它的木材可用於製作家具和器皿。根部可用作繩索。果實和熟葉均可食用。果實、葉子和樹皮已用於傳統醫學系統中。它可被用作觀賞植物。它可以容忍干擾和空氣污染，因此可當作路邊的景觀植物。它很容易填滿森林空地，並被考慮用於重新造林。它適於生長於多種氣候類型中。
- 這種植物很容易在可用棲息地繁殖的能力使它成為某些地區的入侵物種。
References 參考資料
- Wikipedia: Paper mulberry
- 維基百科: 構樹
- 百度百科: 构
- 荒野保護協會: 構樹
Plants Posts 植物的帖子