''Aphananthe aspera'', commonly known as scabrous aphananthe or muku tree, is a flowering plant in the family

Cannabaceae Cannabaceae is a small family (biology), family of flowering plants, known as the hemp family. As now Circumscription (taxonomy), circumscribed, the family includes about 170 species grouped in about 11 genera, including ''Cannabis'' (hemp), ''H ...

. It is found on slopes and stream banks between 100 and 1600 m. It is native to China, Taiwan, Japan, Korea, and Vietnam.

Uses

It is used as an ornamental plant in

Chinese classical garden The Chinese garden is a landscape garden style which has evolved over three thousand years. It includes both the vast gardens of the Chinese emperors and members of the imperial family, built for pleasure and to impress, and the more intimate g ...

s. ''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

phytolith Phytoliths (from Greek, "plant stone") are rigid, microscopic structures made of silica, found in some plant tissues and persisting after the decay of the plant. These plants take up silica from the soil, whereupon it is deposited within different ...

References

Cannabaceae Trees of China Trees of Taiwan Trees of Japan Trees of Korea Trees of Vietnam Plants described in 1873 {{Rosales-stub