The paper mulberry is a species of flowering plant in the family Moraceae. It is native to Asia, where its range includes mainland China, Taiwan, Japan, Korea, Southeast Asia, Myanmar, and India. It is widely cultivated elsewhere and it grows as an introduced species in New Zealand, parts of Europe, the United States, and Africa. Other common names include tapa cloth tree.
Paper mulberry
Japanese washi papermaking process
Form
Pistillate flowers
The Austronesian peoples, sometimes referred to as Austronesian-speaking peoples, are a large group of peoples in Taiwan, Maritime Southeast Asia, parts of Mainland Southeast Asia, Micronesia, coastal New Guinea, Island Melanesia, Polynesia, and Madagascar that speak Austronesian languages. They also include indigenous ethnic minorities in Vietnam, Cambodia, Myanmar, Thailand, Hainan, the Comoros, and the Torres Strait Islands. The nations and territories predominantly populated by Austronesian-speaking peoples are sometimes known collectively as Austronesia.
Amis people of Taiwan performing a traditional tribal dance
Skulls representing Johann Friedrich Blumenbach's "five races" in De Generis Humani Varietate Nativa (1795). The Tahitian skull labelled "O-taheitae" represented what he called the "Malay race".
Paraw sailboats from Boracay, Philippines. Outrigger canoes and crab claw sails are hallmarks of the Austronesian maritime culture.
Coconuts on Rangiroa island in the Tuamotus, French Polynesia; a typical island landscape in Austronesia. Coconuts are native to tropical Asia and were spread as canoe plants to the Pacific Islands and Madagascar by Austronesians.
