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Aphananthe aspera
Also called Scabrous Aphananthe
Mukutree (Aphananthe aspera) is a deciduous tree in the hemp family, native to East Asia, valued in Chinese gardens and for its fibre, wood and rough leaves used as natural sandpaper. It is a tree for open ground rather than a typical houseplant, and grows best in a sheltered, well-drained site.
Aphananthe aspera, commonly known as scabrous aphananthe or muku tree, is a flowering plant in the family Cannabaceae. It is found on slopes and stream banks between 100 and 1600 m. It is native to China, Taiwan, Japan, Korea, and Vietnam.
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. 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.
Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Aphananthe aspera by its contributors, under CC BY-SA 4.0; the excerpts and the care summary drawn from them are shared under the same licence.
The care summary was written by AI (Claude, Anthropic) from the sources on this page, with general growing knowledge where they are silent. Check before relying on it.
Life form, climate and native range: World Checklist of Vascular Plants, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (CC BY 3.0), reformatted; see Plants of the World Online.
