UrticaceaeSubfamily
Tribe Procrideae
Subfamily Boehmerioideae
Tribe Boehmerieae
Subfamily Urticoideae
Tribe Urticeae
W/C = Wild Collected |
Boehmeria nivea (L.) Gaud.-Beaup.
- Common Name: Chinese Silk Plant, Ramie, China Grass
- Family: Urticaceae Juss.
- Country of Origin: eastern Asia - China
- Habitat: Rocky places to 1200m
- Description: Coarse, hispid-stemmed perennials, 3-5 feet high or more; leaves alternate, broadly ovate, to 6 inches long or more, acuminate, cuneate or rounded at base, white-tomentose underneath; panicles densly branched, mostly shorter than subtending petiole.
- Uses: One of the oldest fiber plants in cultivation, Ramie has been used for over 6,000 years and has even been identified in mummy cloths dating from 5,000 BC.3
The extraction of the fibre occurs in three stages. First the cortex or bark is removed; this can be done by hand or by machine. This process is called de-cortication. Second the cortex is scraped to remove most of the outer bark, the parenchyma in the bast layer and some of the gums and pectins. Finally the residual cortex material is washed, dried, and de-gummed to extract the spinnable fibre.4
Images of this accession: {and/or its current location}
Click on thumbnails to enlarge
Accession Data:- Accession # 198500370
- Source: G. Anderson
- Accession Date: 12-31-1985
- Bench: 1204 - AUS:China/Taiwan A
- Qty: 2 confirmed on 01-17-2012
Classification:- Division: Magnoliophyta
- Class: Magnoliopsida
- SubClass: eurosid I
- Order: Rosales
- SubOrder:
- Family: Urticaceae
- SubFamily: Boehmerioideae
- Tribe: Boehmerieae
- SubTribe:
References:
- Plants For A Future Website
- Hortus Third, LH Bailey Hortorium, 1976
- Wikipedia
- Swicofil
- USDA Plants Database
page generated on Tue, 17 Jan 2012 12:54:28 -0500
|
