Edgeworthia chrysantha (Oriental paperbush, "Mitsumata")

Japanese name: ミツマタ （三椏、三叉）
Scientific name: Edgeworthia chrysantha

[Overview]
A deciduous shrub growing to 2 m tall.
The crown is hemispherical.
The branches fork into three, green at first and later yellowish brown, and are hairy while young.
The leaves are simple and alternate, oblong to lanceolate, 9–25 cm long and 2–6 cm wide.
Both sides of the leaves are densely covered with long silky hairs, and the margins are entire.
The petiole is 5–8 mm.
The flowers bloom before the leaves emerge.
Heads emerge from the leaf axils in the upper part of the current year's branches and bear 30–50 flowers.
The flowers have no petals; the calyx lobes, developed like a corolla and divided into 4, are yellow on the inside.
The outside of the calyx lobes is covered with white or golden silky hairs.
The fruit ripens while remaining green.

[History]
Plants that were once cultivated have escaped and become wild.

[Uses]
A fiber plant, it is cultivated in Japan as a raw material for washi (Japanese paper).

[Cultivation]
Propagate from seed.
Wash the seeds well, store them without letting them dry, and sow in spring.
It prefers fertile, well-drained soil.
It grows in sun to partial shade, but young plants dislike direct sunlight, so plant them under deciduous trees or provide shade.
It dislikes being transplanted as a mature plant.
For potted plants, and for young plants in the ground, water thoroughly when the soil surface dries.
For mature plants in the ground, rainfall is sufficient unless sunny weather continues and the soil dries out.
Apply organic fertilizer around the base of the plant as fertilizer in winter.
There are no particular pests or diseases.

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