Ramie (pronounced: , ; from
Malay
Malay may refer to:
Languages
* Malay language or Bahasa Melayu, a major Austronesian language spoken in Indonesia, Malaysia, Brunei and Singapore
** History of the Malay language, the Malay language from the 4th to the 14th century
** Indonesi ...
) is a
flowering plant
Flowering plants are plants that bear flowers and fruits, and form the clade Angiospermae (), commonly called angiosperms. The term "angiosperm" is derived from the Greek words ('container, vessel') and ('seed'), and refers to those plants th ...
in the nettle family
Urticaceae
The Urticaceae are a family, the nettle family, of flowering plants. The family name comes from the genus ''Urtica''. The Urticaceae include a number of well-known and useful plants, including nettles in the genus ''Urtica'', ramie (''Boehmeri ...
, native to eastern
Asia
Asia (, ) is one of the world's most notable geographical regions, which is either considered a continent in its own right or a subcontinent of Eurasia, which shares the continental landmass of Afro-Eurasia with Africa. Asia covers an area ...
. It is a
herbaceous
Herbaceous plants are vascular plants that have no persistent woody stems above ground. This broad category of plants includes many perennials, and nearly all annuals and biennials.
Definitions of "herb" and "herbaceous"
The fourth edition of t ...
perennial
A perennial plant or simply perennial is a plant that lives more than two years. The term ('' per-'' + '' -ennial'', "through the years") is often used to differentiate a plant from shorter-lived annuals and biennials. The term is also wide ...
growing to tall;
[Ramie: Old Fiber - New ImageArchived copy](_blank)
at the Library of Congress
The Library of Congress (LOC) is the research library that officially serves the United States Congress and is the ''de facto'' national library of the United States. It is the oldest federal cultural institution in the country. The library is ...
(September 17, 2002). the
leaves
A leaf (plural, : leaves) is any of the principal appendages of a vascular plant plant stem, stem, usually borne laterally aboveground and specialized for photosynthesis. Leaves are collectively called foliage, as in "autumn foliage", wh ...
are heart-shaped, long and broad, and white on the underside with dense, small hairs—this gives it a silvery appearance; unlike
stinging nettles
''Urtica dioica'', often known as common nettle, burn nettle, stinging nettle (although not all plants of this species sting) or nettle leaf, or just a nettle or stinger, is a herbaceous perennial flowering plant in the family Urticaceae. Ori ...
, the hairs do not sting. The true ramie or China grass is also called Chinese plant or white ramie.
A second type, known as green ramie or rhea, is believed to have originated in the
Malay Peninsula
The Malay Peninsula (Malay: ''Semenanjung Tanah Melayu'') is a peninsula in Mainland Southeast Asia. The landmass runs approximately north–south, and at its terminus, it is the southernmost point of the Asian continental mainland. The area ...
. It has smaller leaves which are green on the underside, and it appears to be better suited to
tropical
The tropics are the regions of Earth surrounding the Equator. They are defined in latitude by the Tropic of Cancer in the Northern Hemisphere at N and the Tropic of Capricorn in
the Southern Hemisphere at S. The tropics are also referred to ...
conditions.
The word "ramie" is derived from the
Malay
Malay may refer to:
Languages
* Malay language or Bahasa Melayu, a major Austronesian language spoken in Indonesia, Malaysia, Brunei and Singapore
** History of the Malay language, the Malay language from the 4th to the 14th century
** Indonesi ...
word ''rami''.
Cultivation
Ramie is one of the oldest
fiber crop
Fiber crops are field crops grown for their fibers, which are traditionally used to make paper, cloth, or rope.
Fiber crops are characterized by having a large concentration of cellulose, which is what gives them their strength. The fibers may b ...
s, having been used for at least 6,000 years, and is principally used for fabric production. It is a
bast fiber
Bast fibre (also called phloem fibre or skin fibre) is plant fibre collected from the phloem (the "inner bark", sometimes called "skin") or bast surrounding the stem of certain dicotyledonous plants. It supports the conductive cells of the phlo ...
, which comes from the inner bark (
phloem
Phloem (, ) is the living biological tissue, tissue in vascular plants that transports the soluble organic compounds made during photosynthesis and known as ''photosynthates'', in particular the sugar sucrose, to the rest of the plant. This tran ...
) of the vegetative stalks and not the woody stem itself or the outer bark. Ramie is normally harvested two to three times a year, but under good growing conditions can be harvested up to six times per year.
Unlike other bast crops, ramie requires chemical processing to de-gum the fiber.
When the plant begins flowering, or just before, it signals both a decline in growth and the plant being at its maximum fibre content, and is harvested.
Stems are harvested by cutting just above the lateral roots or by bending the stem. This enables the core to be broken and the
cortex
Cortex or cortical may refer to:
Biology
* Cortex (anatomy), the outermost layer of an organ
** Cerebral cortex, the outer layer of the vertebrate cerebrum, part of which is the ''forebrain''
*** Motor cortex, the regions of the cerebral cortex i ...
can be stripped from the plant ''in situ''.
[
After harvesting, stems are decorticated while the plants are fresh. If this is not done while the plants are still fresh, the plants dry out and the bark will be difficult to remove. The bark ribbon is then dried as quickly as possible, preventing ]bacteria
Bacteria (; singular: bacterium) are ubiquitous, mostly free-living organisms often consisting of one biological cell. They constitute a large domain of prokaryotic microorganisms. Typically a few micrometres in length, bacteria were among ...
and fungi
A fungus ( : fungi or funguses) is any member of the group of eukaryotic organisms that includes microorganisms such as yeasts and molds, as well as the more familiar mushrooms. These organisms are classified as a kingdom, separately from ...
from attacking it.[
The dry weight of harvested stem from crops ranges from 3.4 to 4.5 t/ha/year. A 4.5-ton crop yields 1,600 kg/ha/year of dry undegummed fiber. The weight loss during degumming can be up to 25%, giving a yield of degummed fiber of about 1,200 kg/ha/year.][
The fiber extraction occurs in three stages. First, the cortex (bark) is removed; this can be done manually or by machine. This process is called decortication. Second, the cortex is scraped to remove most of the outer bark, the ]parenchyma
Parenchyma () is the bulk of functional substance in an animal organ or structure such as a tumour. In zoology it is the name for the tissue that fills the interior of flatworms.
Etymology
The term ''parenchyma'' is New Latin from the word π ...
in the bast layer and some of the gums and pectins. Third, the residual cortex material is washed, dried, and degummed to extract the spinnable fiber
Fiber or fibre (from la, fibra, links=no) is a natural or artificial substance that is significantly longer than it is wide. Fibers are often used in the manufacture of other materials. The strongest engineering materials often incorporate ...
.[
]
History
Ramie has been grown in China
China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...
for many centuries, and farmers in ancient China are known to have used the fiber to weave clothing. In China, it is called zhù má (苎麻). It may have been used in cloth for wrapping mummies in Egypt
Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediter ...
. Though ramie and flax are difficult to distinguish from one another in ancient cloth, ramie's resistance to bacteria and mildew would make it appropriate for mummy wrapping.
Taiwan's aboriginal people have used ramie for millennia in fabric production and ramie is still used to create traditional garb which is worn in the festivals which have not been banned (mostly related to decapitation and stabbing enemy captives).
Ramie was used to produce an open-weave fabric called mechera, used for shirts and dressing gowns suitable for warm climates. The French painter Raoul Dufy
Raoul Dufy (; 3 June 1877 – 23 March 1953) was a French Fauvism, Fauvist painter. He developed a colorful, decorative style that became fashionable for designs of ceramic art, ceramics and textile as well as decorative schemes for public bu ...
designed in the early 20th century patterns for prints on mechera used by the French shirtmaker Charvet.
Brazil
Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...
began production in the late 1930s with production peaking in 1971. Since then, production has steadily declined as a result of competition from alternative crops, such as soybean
The soybean, soy bean, or soya bean (''Glycine max'') is a species of legume native to East Asia, widely grown for its edible bean, which has numerous uses.
Traditional unfermented food uses of soybeans include soy milk, from which tofu an ...
s, and from synthetic fibers.
Properties
Ramie is one of the strongest natural fibers. It exhibits even greater strength when wet. Ramie fiber is known especially for its ability to hold shape, reduce wrinkling, and introduce a silk
Silk is a natural protein fiber, some forms of which can be woven into textiles. The protein fiber of silk is composed mainly of fibroin and is produced by certain insect larvae to form cocoons. The best-known silk is obtained from the coc ...
y lustre to the fabric appearance. It is not as durable as other fibers, so is usually used as a blend with other fibers such as cotton
Cotton is a soft, fluffy staple fiber that grows in a boll, or protective case, around the seeds of the cotton plants of the genus ''Gossypium'' in the mallow family Malvaceae. The fiber is almost pure cellulose, and can contain minor perce ...
or wool
Wool is the textile fibre obtained from sheep and other mammals, especially goats, rabbits, and camelids. The term may also refer to inorganic materials, such as mineral wool and glass wool, that have properties similar to animal wool.
As ...
. It is similar to linen
Linen () is a textile made from the fibers of the flax plant.
Linen is very strong, absorbent, and dries faster than cotton. Because of these properties, linen is comfortable to wear in hot weather and is valued for use in garments. It also ...
in absorbency, density, and microscopic appearance. It does not dye as well as cotton. Because of its high molecular crystallinity, ramie is stiff and brittle and will break if folded repeatedly in the same place; it lacks resiliency and is low in elasticity and elongation potential.[Kadolph SJ, Langford AL. Textiles (9th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall; 2001. ]
Uses
Despite its strength, ramie has had limited acceptance for textile
Textile is an umbrella term that includes various fiber-based materials, including fibers, yarns, filaments, threads, different fabric types, etc. At first, the word "textiles" only referred to woven fabrics. However, weaving is not the ...
use. The fiber's extraction and cleaning are expensive, chiefly because of the several steps—involving scraping, pounding, heating, washing, or exposure to chemicals. Some or all are needed to separate the raw fiber from the adhesive gums or resins. Spinning the fiber is difficult due to its brittle quality and low elasticity; and weaving is complicated by the hairy surface of the yarn, resulting from lack of cohesion between the fibers. Greater utilization of ramie may depend upon development of improved processing methods and the need to find plastic alternatives.
Ramie is used to make such products as industrial sewing thread, packing materials, fishing nets, and filter cloths. It is also made into fabrics for household furnishings (upholstery
Upholstery is the work of providing furniture, especially seats, with padding, springs, webbing, and fabric or leather covers. The word also refers to the materials used to upholster something.
''Upholstery'' comes from the Middle English word ...
, canvas
Canvas is an extremely durable plain-woven fabric used for making sails, tents, marquees, backpacks, shelters, as a support for oil painting and for other items for which sturdiness is required, as well as in such fashion objects as handbags ...
) and clothing, frequently in blends with other textile fibers (for instance when used in a mixture with wool
Wool is the textile fibre obtained from sheep and other mammals, especially goats, rabbits, and camelids. The term may also refer to inorganic materials, such as mineral wool and glass wool, that have properties similar to animal wool.
As ...
, shrinkage is reported to be greatly reduced when compared with pure wool). Shorter fibers and waste are used in paper manufacture. Ramie ribbon is used in fine bookbinding
Bookbinding is the process of physically assembling a book of codex format from an ordered stack of ''signatures'', sheets of paper folded together into sections that are bound, along one edge, with a thick needle and strong thread. Cheaper, b ...
as a substitute for traditional linen tape.
For the 2010 Prius
The is a car built by Toyota which has a hybrid drivetrain, combining an internal combustion engine with an electric motor. Initially offered as a four-door sedan, it has been produced only as a five-door liftback since 2003.
In 2007, th ...
, Toyota
is a Japanese multinational automotive manufacturer headquartered in Toyota City, Aichi, Japan. It was founded by Kiichiro Toyoda and incorporated on . Toyota is one of the largest automobile manufacturers in the world, producing about 10 ...
began using plant-derived plastics made from the cellulose
Cellulose is an organic compound with the formula , a polysaccharide consisting of a linear chain of several hundred to many thousands of β(1→4) linked D-glucose units. Cellulose is an important structural component of the primary cell wall ...
in wood or grass instead of petroleum
Petroleum, also known as crude oil, or simply oil, is a naturally occurring yellowish-black liquid mixture of mainly hydrocarbons, and is found in geological formations. The name ''petroleum'' covers both naturally occurring unprocessed crud ...
. One of the two principal crops used is ramie.
Ramie is also used as an ornamental plant
Ornamental plants or garden plants are plants that are primarily grown for their beauty but also for qualities such as scent or how they shape physical space. Many flowering plants and garden varieties tend to be specially bred cultivars that i ...
in eastern Asia
East Asia is the eastern region of Asia, which is defined in both Geography, geographical and culture, ethno-cultural terms. The modern State (polity), states of East Asia include China, Japan, Mongolia, North Korea, South Korea, and Taiwan. ...
.
In Vietnam
Vietnam or Viet Nam ( vi, Việt Nam, ), officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam,., group="n" is a country in Southeast Asia, at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of and population of 96 million, making i ...
, ramie leaves are called "cây lá gai", which is a main ingredient in making "bánh gai" or "bánh ít lá gai", a Vietnamese glutinous rice cake. The leaves give the cake its distinct color, flavor and fragrance.
In the Chinese Hakka
The Hakka (), sometimes also referred to as Hakka Han, or Hakka Chinese, or Hakkas are a Han Chinese subgroup whose ancestral homes are chiefly in the Hakka-speaking provincial areas of Guangdong, Fujian, Jiangxi, Guangxi, Sichuan, Hunan, Zhej ...
community, ramie leaves are called "chu yap (苧葉)," which is a main ingredient in making pancake-like dumplings with glutinous rice powder, sugar and water. These glutinous rice powder dumplings are known as "ban (粄)" in Hakka or "Cha Kwo (茶棵)" in Cantonese
Cantonese ( zh, t=廣東話, s=广东话, first=t, cy=Gwóngdūng wá) is a language within the Chinese (Sinitic) branch of the Sino-Tibetan languages originating from the city of Guangzhou (historically known as Canton) and its surrounding are ...
, similar to another Southeast Asian delicacy otherwise known as Kuih
''Kuih'' (Indonesian: ''kue''; derived from the Hokkien and Teochew ''kueh'' – ) are bite-sized snack or dessert foods commonly found in Southeast Asia and China. It is a fairly broad term which may include items that would be called cake ...
. The ramie leaves are picked, cleaned and ground in mortar, mixed into a dough of glutinous rice powder, water and sugar, kneaded thoroughly and placed on palm-sized square- or circular-cut banana leaves and steamed. The ramie leaves give the dumplings a dark green colour and unique aroma.
Ramie is also occasionally used in the construction of high performance rowing oar shafts. Mahe Drysdale used sculling oars made with ramie during the 2016 Rio Olympics where he won Gold in the Men's 1X Scull.
Producers
China
China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...
leads in the production of ramie and exports mainly to Japan
Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...
and Europe
Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...
. Other producers include Japan
Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...
, Taiwan
Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the nort ...
, the Philippines
The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no),
* bik, Republika kan Filipinas
* ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas
* cbk, República de Filipinas
* hil, Republ ...
, and Brazil
Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...
. Only a small percentage of the ramie produced is available on the international market. Japan, Germany
Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...
, France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...
and the UK are the main importers, the remaining supply is used domestically.[
]
See also
* International Year of Natural Fibres
International is an adjective (also used as a noun) meaning "between nations".
International may also refer to:
Music Albums
* ''International'' (Kevin Michael album), 2011
* ''International'' (New Order album), 2002
* ''International'' (The T ...
*
References
Further reading
External links
*Ian Woo
Ramie: the different bast fibre crop
''Australian New Crops Newsletter''
{{Taxonbar, from=Q750467
Boehmeria
Crops originating from Asia
Fiber plants
Flora of Asia
Flora of Peninsular Malaysia
Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus