Boehmeria nivea

Common Name: Chinese Silk Plant

Family: Urticaceae

Country of Origin: eastern Asia - China

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

USDA Zone: 7b-11

Accession #: 198500370

Accession Date: 1985-12-31 00:00:00

Bloom Status: 🪴 Not Flowering

Location: 3310

Quantity: 2

Source: G. Anderson

Division: Magnoliophyta

Class: Magnoliopsida

Subclass: eurosid I

Order: Rosales

Family: Urticaceae

Tribe: Boehmerieae