Edgeworthia chrysantha

The genus was named in honour of Michael Pakenham Edgeworth (1812–1881), an Irish-born Victorian era amateur botanist, who worked for the East India Company, and for his sister, writer Maria Edgeworth.[3][4][5] The Latin specific epithet chrysantha is in reference to the plant's yellow flowers.[6]

Edgeworthia chrysantha is a deciduous shrub with dark green, leathery, single, alternate, lanceolate leaves, 7.6–12.7 cm (3–5 in) long. It can reach a height of 1.2–1.8 m (4–6 ft). Flowers are yellow, have a sweet scent, and in clusters at the branch tips. The flowering period extends from February to April.[6]

This species is native to Myanmar and south-central and southeast China.[7] It is naturalized in Japan. It grows in forests and shrubby slopes.[1]

The bark fibres of these plants are used for making the handmade Japanese tissue called "mitsumata paper". Along with kōzo and gampi, it is used for making traditional Japanese paper (washi). Among other applications, mitsumata is used for banknotes as the paper is very durable.[2] In China, flowers, roots and bark are used in traditional medicine.[7]

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  Edgeworthia chrysantha in flower, Imperial Palace gardens, Tokyo
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  Close-up on flowers of Edgeworthia chrysantha, in Donglin Temple (Jiangxi), Jiujiang, China
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  Leaves of Edgeworthia chrysantha
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  Attractive young bark of Edgeworthia chrysantha var. grandiflora

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