Broussonetia

{{Short description|Genus of plants}}

{{About|Broussonetia L’Hér. ex Vent.|the defunct legume genus, Broussonetia Ortega|Dermatophyllum}}

{{Automatic taxobox

| image = Broussonetia papyrifera fruits.jpg

| image_caption = Broussonetia papyrifera (paper mulberry)

| taxon = Broussonetia

| authority = (L.) L'Hér. ex Vent. (1799)

| subdivision_ranks = Species

| subdivision =

• Broussonetia harmandii {{small|Gagnep.}}
• Broussonetia kaempferi {{small|Siebold}}
• Broussonetia × kazinoki {{small|Siebold}}
• Broussonetia monoica {{small|Hance}}
• Broussonetia papyrifera {{small|(L.) L'Hér. ex Vent.}}

|subdivision_ref =

|synonyms =

• Papyrius {{small|Lam. ex Cav. (1802)}}
• Smithiodendron {{small|Hu (1936)}}
• Stenochasma {{small|Miq. (1851)}}

|synonyms_ref =

}}

Broussonetia is a genus of four species (including one hybrid species) of trees in the family Moraceae, native to eastern Asia.{{Cite web|title=Broussonetia L'Hér. ex Vent. {{!}} Plants of the World Online {{!}} Kew Science|url=https://powo.science.kew.org/taxon/urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:331428-2|access-date=22 April 2024|website=Plants of the World Online}} These four species have high-quality fiber which consist of more than 90% of cellulose. They are traditionally applied for various daily necessities in South Eastern Asia and papermaking in East Asia.

One of these is the paper mulberry (Broussonetia papyrifera), whose bark fiber is used to make traditional paper in China, Korea, and Japan. This species has been widely introduced and has become invasive in some areas. Not only is paper mulberry used for paper making, but also other species are widely used in paper industry in those three countries' history. In fact, paper mulberry is not a major source of their traditional paper at least in Korea and Japan. Major material fibers of Hanji (Korean paper) and Washi (Japanese paper) come from Broussonetia × kazinoki.{{Cite journal |last=Kuo, W. H., Liu, S. H., Chang, C. C., Hsieh, C. L., Li, Y. H., Ito, T., ... & Chung, K. F. |date=2022 |title=Plastome phylogenomics of Allaeanthus, Broussonetia and Malaisia (Dorstenieae, Moraceae) and the origin of B.× kazinoki. |journal=Journal of Plant Research |pages=1–18}} Broussonetia × kazinoki is known as only hybrid in Broussonetia genus between B. monoica and B. papyrifera.