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''Lokta paper'', also known as ''Nepali kagaj'' or ''Nepali paper'', is a wildcrafted, handmade artisan paper indigenous to
''Lokta paper'', also known as ''Nepali kagaj'' or ''Nepali paper'', is a wildcrafted, handmade artisan paper indigenous to 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 ma ...
. It is made from the bark of two of the species of the shrub ''Daphne''. The paper was used historically in Nepal for religious scriptures and government documents. In modern age, the paper is used to make notebooks, religious scriptures, arts, painting canvas and for some of the government documents.
Overview
Nepalese handmade lokta paper is made from the fibrous inner bark of high elevationevergreen
In botany, an evergreen is a plant which has foliage that remains green and functional through more than one growing season. This also pertains to plants that retain their foliage only in warm climates, and contrasts with deciduous plants, which ...
shrubs
A shrub (often also called a bush) is a small-to-medium-sized perennial woody plant. Unlike herbaceous plants, shrubs have persistent woody stems above the ground. Shrubs can be either deciduous or evergreen. They are distinguished from trees ...
primarily from two species of ''Daphne'' (plant) (Greek: meaning "Laurel"): ''Daphne bholua
''Daphne bholua'', the Nepalese paper plant, is a species of flowering shrub in the genus ''Daphne'' of the family Thymelaeaceae. It grows at altitudes of in the Himalayas and neighbouring mountain ranges, from Nepal to southern China. At low ...
'' and ''Daphne papyracea
''Daphne papyracea'' is a shrub, of the family Thymelaeaceae. It is evergreen, and is found across Asia, from Pakistan through central Nepal to China. Generally it is found at elevations from . ''Daphne laciniata'' from Yunnan has been treated a ...
'', known collectively and vernacularly as lokta bushes.
Lokta bushes proliferate in open clusters or colonies on the southern slopes of Nepal's Himalayan Himalayan may refer to:
* Himalayas mountain range
** Transhimalaya, a subrange (some species found there are referred to as "Himalayan" not "Transhimalayan")
* ''Himalayan'' (album), an album by the band Band of Skulls
* Himalayan cat, the breed ...
forests between 1,600 and 4,000 m (c.5,250–13,000 ft).
Historically the handcrafting of lokta paper occurred in the rural areas of Nepal, most notably in the