''Daphne papyracea'' is a shrub, of the family

Thymelaeaceae The Thymelaeaceae are a cosmopolitan family of flowering plants composed of 50 genera (listed below) and 898 species.Zachary S. Rogers (2009 onwards)A World Checklist of Thymelaeaceae (version 1) Missouri Botanical Garden Website, St. Louis. It ...

. It is evergreen, and is found across Asia, from

Pakistan Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 24 ...

through central

Nepal Nepal (; ne, नेपाल ), formerly the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal ( ne, सङ्घीय लोकतान्त्रिक गणतन्त्र नेपाल ), is a landlocked country in South Asia. It is mai ...

to China. Generally it is found at elevations from . ''Daphne laciniata'' from

Yunnan Yunnan , () is a landlocked Provinces of China, province in Southwest China, the southwest of the People's Republic of China. The province spans approximately and has a population of 48.3 million (as of 2018). The capital of the province is ...

has been treated as a separate species or as part of ''D. papyracea''.

Description

The shrub grows to be up to tall.

Subspecies and varieties

, The Plant List accepts the following infrataxa: *''Daphne papyracea'' subsp. ''jinyunensis'' (C.Yung Chang) Halda (syn. ''Daphne jinyunensis'' C.Yung Chang) *''Daphne papyracea'' subsp. ''yunnanensis'' (H.F.Zhou ex C.Yung Chang) Halda (syn. ''Daphne yunnanensis'' H.F.Zhou ex C.Yung Chang) *''Daphne papyracea'' var. ''longituba'' (C.Yung Chang) Halda (syn. ''Daphne longituba'' C.Yung Chang) *''Daphne papyracea'' var. ''xichouensis'' (H.F.Zhou ex C.Yung Chang) Halda (syn. ''Daphne xichouensis'' H.F.Zhou ex C.Yung Chang) The

Flora of China The flora of China consists of a diverse range of plant species including over 39,000 vascular plants, 27,000 species of fungi and 3000 species of bryophytes.Wu, Z. Y., P. H. Raven & D. Y. Hong, eds. 2006. Flora of China. Vol. 22 (Poaceae). Sc ...

recognizes these as separate species. They were reduced to infrataxa of ''Daphne papyracea'' by Josef Halda in 1997 and 2000. ''Daphne papyracea'' subsp. ''jinyunensis'' is distinguished from subsp. ''papyracea'' by its dark, very finely hairy branches, inflorescences with few flowers and very small bracteoles. Its flowers are 6–8 mm long and 3–4 mm across. It is native to

Chongqing Chongqing ( or ; ; Sichuanese dialects, Sichuanese pronunciation: , Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ), Postal Romanization, alternately romanized as Chungking (), is a Direct-administered municipalities of China, municipality in Southwes ...

in Sichuan, China, where it is found in open forests on rocky slopes. ''Daphne papyracea'' subsp. ''yunnanensis'' is distinguished from subsp. ''papyracea'' by the shape of its leaves which usually have tips that are pointed to heart-shaped (acuminate-caudate) and the shape of the disk which is almost divided into four parts, having two bifid lobes. It is native to south-west Yunnan, where it occurs in montane forests. ''Daphne papyracea'' var. ''longituba'' is a variety of ''D. papyracea'' subsp. ''papyracea''. It differs in the length of the flowers, which are 10–14 mm long. It is found in forests and valleys at 1000–1200 m in north-east

Guangxi Guangxi (; ; Chinese postal romanization, alternately romanized as Kwanghsi; ; za, Gvangjsih, italics=yes), officially the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region (GZAR), is an Autonomous regions of China, autonomous region of the People's Republic ...

, China. ''Daphne papyracea'' var. ''xichouensis'' has reddish-white flowers and is found at 1500–1800 m on moist shrubby slopes in south-east Yunnan, China.

Usage for paper

It is mentioned as a "paper shrub" by an English botanist in 1818. It is known as the main source of raw material for the production of lokta paper, a hand-made paper from Nepal.

References

papyracea {{Thymelaeaceae-stub