Cotton/Fibers

Fiber (botanical)

a long, narrow tapering cell, dead & hollow at maturity with a thick cdll wall composed mostly of cellulose & lignin & is rigid for support and found mainly in xylem

Fiber (commercial)

a long, narrow, flexible material that may be animal, mineral, synthetic, or plant in origin

Textile fibers

for making cloth

surface fibers

grow from the surface of seeds, leaves, or fruits ex: cotton, coir, & kapok

soft/bast fibers

found in the phloem/inner bark of dicot stems ex: flax, jute, hemp, & ramie

hard/leaf fibers

found in monocot leaf vascular bundles ex: sisal, Manilla hemp, & pinneapple

Cordage fibers

for making rope + impt use during the Age of Exploration

Gossypium hirsutum

What is the scientific name of upland cotton?

Peru, India, and Ancient Mesopotamia 

Where does cotton originate from?

wind dispersal

What are the hairs of cotton used for in the wild?

boll weevil

common pest of cotton

Flax

(Linum usitatissimum) can be woven to make linen

a plant adapted to cool climates

bast

what kind of fiber is flax?

Ramie

(Boehmeria nivea) a shrub native to China that produces the longest, strongest, & most lustrous fibers used for textiles for making sweaters & other knitted fabric

bast

what kind of fiber is ramie?

Hemp

(Cannabis satvia) an eco-friendly plant fiber that comes in many varieties, forms, and textures, is native to China, and used to make canvas, ropes, & twines

Bast

What kind of fiber is hemp?

Jute

(Corchorus species) native to India & Bangladesh and used to make burlap, ropes, wall coverings, carpet backing upholstery lining, & inexpensive clothing

soft/bast

What kind of fiber is jute?

Sisal

(Agave sisalana) comes from the agave desert plant native to Mexico and Central America & is used to make rope, sacs, floor mats, and coarse garments

leaf/hard

what kind of fiber is sisal?

Kapok

(Ceiba pentandra) the fiber that saves lives (used for stuffing in life preservers) and used for padding furniture, matresses, & pillows

Seed/surface

what kind of fiber is kapok?

Coir

a fiber derived from coconut and used for ropes and door/welcome mats

seed/surface

what kind of fiber is coir?

rayon

a synthetic/artifical fiber that comes from viscose, a chemical derivative of pure cellulose from wood pulp; aka artifical silk