Bast fibre

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Bast fibre

Bast fibre (fiber) or skin fibre is plant fibre collected from the phloem

Phloem

In vascular plants, phloem is the living Biological tissue that carries organic nutrients , particularly sucrose, a sugar, to all parts of the plant where needed....
(the "inner bark" or the skin) or bast surrounding the stem of certain, mainly dicotyledon

Dicotyledon

Dicotyledons, or "dicots", is a name for a group of flowering plants whose seed typically has two embryonic leaves or cotyledons. There are around 199,350 species within this group....
ic, plant

Plant

Plants are Life organisms belonging to the Kingdom Plantae. They include familiar organisms such as trees, herbs, bushes, grasses, vines, ferns, mosses, and green algae....
s. They support the conductive cells of the phloem and provide strength to the stem. Most of the technically important bast fibers are obtained from herbs cultivated in agriculture, as for instance flax

Flax

Flax is a member of the genus Linum in the family Linaceae. It is native to the region extending from the eastern Mediterranean region to India and was probably first domesticated in the Fertile Crescent....
, hemp

Hemp

File:Industrialhemp.jpgHemp is the common name for plants of the entire genus Cannabis, although the term is often used to refer only to Cannabis strains cultivated for industrial use....
, or ramie

Ramie

Ramie is a flowering plant in the nettle family Urticaceae, native to eastern Asia. It is a herbaceous perennial plant growing to 1 - 2.5 m tall; the leaf are heart-shaped, 7-15 cm long and 6-12 cm broad, and white on the underside with dense small hairs - this gives it a silvery appearance; unlike nettles, the hairs do not sting....
, but also bast fibers from wild plants, as stinging nettle

Stinging nettle

Urtica dioica, commonly called stinging nettle, is a herbaceous perennial flowering plant, native to Europe, Asia, northern Africa, and North America, and is the best known member of the nettle genus Urtica....
, and trees as the lime tree, have been used to some extent.

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Encyclopedia

Bast fibre (fiber) or skin fibre is plant fibre collected from the phloem

Phloem

Dicotyledon

Plant

Flax

Hemp

Ramie

Stinging nettle

Xylem

In vascular plants, xylem is one of the two types of transport tissue, phloem being the other. The word "xylem" is derived from classical Greek language ????? , "wood", and indeed the best known xylem tissue is wood, though it is found throughout the plant....
material ("woody core"), and sometimes also from epidermis

Epidermis (botany)

The epidermis is a single-layered group of cells that covers plants leaf, flowers, roots and Plant stem. It forms a boundary between the plant and the external world....
. The process for this is called retting

Retting

Retting is a stage in the manufacturing of fiber crop, especially the bast fibers. It is a process that employs water and microbial action to separate the bast fibers from the woody core , and sometimes from the Epidermis as well....
, and can be performed by microoganisms either on land (nowadays the most important) or in water, or by chemicals (for instance high pH and chelating agents) or by pectin

Pectin

Pectin is a structural heteropolysaccharide contained in the primary cell walls of terrestrial plants. It was first isolated and described in 1825 by Henri Braconnot....
olytic enzyme

Enzyme

Enzymes are biomolecules that catalysis chemical reactions. Almost all enzymes are proteins. In enzymatic reactions, the molecules at the beginning of the process are called Substrate , and the enzyme converts them into different molecules, the products....
s. In the phloem bast fibers occur in bundles that are glued together by pectin

Pectin

Pectin is a structural heteropolysaccharide contained in the primary cell walls of terrestrial plants. It was first isolated and described in 1825 by Henri Braconnot....
and calcium

Calcium

Calcium is the chemical element with the symbol Ca and atomic number 20. It has an atomic mass of 40.078 amu. Calcium is a soft grey alkaline earth metal, and is the fifth most abundant element by mass in the earth's Crust ....
ion

Ion

An ion is an atom or molecule which has lost or gained one or more electrons, giving it a positive or negative electrical charge. According to the Bohr_model this will be from or in the outer shield 'n'....
s. More intense retting separates the fiber bundles into elementary fibers, that can be several cm long. The bast fibres have often higher tensile strength

Tensile strength

Tensile strength , or is the Stress at which a material breaks or permanently deforms. Tensile strength is an Intensive and extensive properties and, consequently, does not depend on the size of the test specimen....
than other kinds, and are therefore used for textile

Textile

A textile is a flexible material consisting of a network of natural or artificial fibres often referred to as thread or yarn. Yarn is produced by Spinning raw wool fibres, linen, cotton, or other material on a spinning wheel to produce long strands known as yarn....
s (not seldom very exclusive textiles, sometimes in blends with cotton or synthetic fibers) rope

Rope

A rope is a length of fibers, twisted or braided together to improve strength for pulling and connecting. It has tensile strength but is too flexible to provide compressive strength ....
s, yarn

Yarn

Yarn is a long continuous length of interlocked fibers, suitable for use in the production of textiles, sewing, crocheting, knitting, weaving, embroidery and ropemaking....
, paper

Paper

Composite material

Composite materials are engineered materials made from two or more constituent materials with significantly different physical or chemical properties which remain separate and distinct on a macroscopic level within the finished structure....
s and burlap

Burlap

Burlap redirects here, for other uses see Burlap Hessian or burlap is a coarse woven Textile usually made from jute fibers and allied vegetable fibers....
. A special property of bast fibers are that the fiber contain a special structure, the fiber node, that represents a weak point. Fiber nodes seems not to be present in seed hairs as cotton.

Examples are:

Jute
Jute

Jute is a long, soft, shiny vegetable fiber that can be spun into coarse, strong threads. It is produced from plants in the genus Corchorus, family Tiliaceae....
Hemp
Hemp

File:Industrialhemp.jpgHemp is the common name for plants of the entire genus Cannabis, although the term is often used to refer only to Cannabis strains cultivated for industrial use....
Flax
Flax

Flax is a member of the genus Linum in the family Linaceae. It is native to the region extending from the eastern Mediterranean region to India and was probably first domesticated in the Fertile Crescent....
(Linen
Linen

Linen is a textile made from the fibers of the flax plant, Linum usitatissimum. Linen is labor-intensive to manufacture, but when it is made into garments, it is valued for its exceptional coolness and freshness in hot weather....
)
Ramie
Ramie

Ramie is a flowering plant in the nettle family Urticaceae, native to eastern Asia. It is a herbaceous perennial plant growing to 1 - 2.5 m tall; the leaf are heart-shaped, 7-15 cm long and 6-12 cm broad, and white on the underside with dense small hairs - this gives it a silvery appearance; unlike nettles, the hairs do not sting....
Kenaf
Kenaf

Kenaf [Etymology: Persian], Hibiscus cannabinus, is a plant in the Malvaceae family. Hibiscus cannabinus is in the genus Hibiscus and is probably native to southern Asia, though its exact natural origin is unknown....
Roselle hemp
Rattan
Rattan

Rattan , is the name for the roughly 600 species of Arecaceae in the tribe Calameae, native to tropical regions of Africa, Asia and Australasia....
Soybean
Soybean

The soybean or soya bean is a species of legume native to East Asia. The plant is classed as an oilseed rather than a Pulse . It is an annual plant that has been used in China for 5,000 years as a food and a component of drugs....
fibre
Okra
Okra

Okra , also known as ladyfinger and gumbo, is a flowering plant in the Malvaceae , valued for its edible green fruits. Okra's binomial nomenclature is Abelmoschus esculentus; it is occasionally referred to by the synonym, Hibiscus esculentus L....
fibre
Vine fibre
Banana
Banana

File:Banana and cross section.jpgBanana is the common name for a fruit and also the herbaceous plants of the genus Musa which produce this commonly eaten fruit....
fibre

Use of bast fibre

Bast fibres are processed for use in carpet

Carpet

A carpet is any loom-woven, felted textile or grass floor covering. The term was also used for table and wall coverings, as carpets were not commonly used on the floor in European interiors until the 18th century....
yarn

Yarn

Yarn is a long continuous length of interlocked fibers, suitable for use in the production of textiles, sewing, crocheting, knitting, weaving, embroidery and ropemaking....
, rope

Rope

A rope is a length of fibers, twisted or braided together to improve strength for pulling and connecting. It has tensile strength but is too flexible to provide compressive strength ....
, geotextile

Geotextile

Geotextiles are permeable fabrics which, when used in association with soil, have the ability to separate, filter, reinforce, protect, or drain....
(netting or matting), traditional carpets, hessian or burlap

Burlap

Burlap redirects here, for other uses see Burlap Hessian or burlap is a coarse woven Textile usually made from jute fibers and allied vegetable fibers....
, paper

Paper

Paper is thin material mainly used for writing upon, printing upon or packaging. It is produced by pressing together moist fibers, typically cellulose pulp derived from wood, rags or grasses, and drying them into flexible sheets....
, sacks, etc. Bast fibers are also used in the non-woven, moulding, and composite technology industries for the manufacturing of non-woven mats and carpets, composite boards as furniture materials, automobile door pannels and headliners, etc. From prehistoric times through at least the early 20th century, bast shoe

Bast shoe

Bast shoes are shoes woven primarily from bast of the Tilia tree or from birch bark, a kind of basket fit to the shape of a foot. It is an obsolete traditional footwear of forest areas of Eastern Europe used by poorer population of Finnic people, Balts, and Slavs....
s were woven from bast strips in the forest areas of Eastern Europe.

Bast fibre

Use of bast fibre

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