Ramie

Ramie (/ˈreɪmi/, RAY-mee) is a flowering plant in the nettle family Urticaceae,

Ramie
native to eastern Asia. It is a herbaceous perennial growing to 1.0–2.5 m (3 ft
3 in–8 ft 2 in) tall;[1] the leaves are heart-shaped, 7–15 cm (2.8–5.9 in) long
and 6–12 cm (2.4–4.7 in) broad, and white on the underside with dense, small
hairs—this gives it a silvery appearance; unlike stinging nettles, 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. It has smaller leaves which are green on the
underside, and it appears to be better suited to tropical conditions.[1] The word
Scientific classification
"ramie" is derived from the Malay word rami.[2]
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Contents Clade: Angiosperms
Cultivation Clade: Eudicots
History Clade: Rosids
Properties
Order: Rosales
Uses
Producers Family: Urticaceae
See also Genus: Boehmeria
References
Species: B. nivea
Further reading
Binomial name
External links
Boehmeria nivea
(L.) Gaudich.
Cultivation
Ramie is one of the oldest fiber crops, having been used for at
least 6,000 years, and is principally used for fabric production. It
is a bast fiber, and the fiber used for textiles comes from the inner
bark (phloem) of the vegetative stalks and not the woody stem or
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.[3] 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

Worldwide ramie production
decline in growth and the plant being at its maximum fibre
content, and is harvested.[3] 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 can be stripped from the plant in
situ.[3]

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 and fungi
from attacking it.[3]

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.[3]

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 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.[3]

History
Ramie has been grown in China for many centuries, and farmers in ancient
China are known to have used the fiber to weave clothing. It may have been used
in cloth for wrapping mummies in Egypt. Though ramie and flax are difficult to
distinguish in ancient cloth, ramie's resistance to bacteria and mildew would
make it appropriate for mummy wrapping.[4]

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
designed in the early 20th century patterns for prints on mechera used by the
French shirtmaker Charvet.[5]

Brazil 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 soybeans and synthetic fibers.[1]

Properties Preparing ramie fiber for weaving,

The Story of Ramie From Seed to
Ramie is one of the strongest natural fibers. It exhibits even greater strength
Finished Garment, ca.1820
when wet. Ramie fiber is known especially for its ability to hold shape, reduce
wrinkling, and introduce a silky 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 or wool. It is similar to linen 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.[6]

Physical and chemical properties of ramie fiber

Cellulose Lignin Hemicellulose Pectin Wax Microfibrillar Moisture Density

(wt%) (wt%) (wt%) (wt%) (wt%) angle (°) content (wt%) (g/cm3)
68.6 - 76.2 0.6 - 0.7 13.1 - 16.7 1.9 0.3 7.5 8.0 1.50
Source:[7]
 Mechanical properties of untreated ramie fibers
Fiber diameter (mm) Fracture load (N) Tensile strength (MPa) Fracture strain (%)
0.034 0.467 560 0.025
Source:[8]

Uses
Despite its strength, ramie has had limited acceptance for textile
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.[9]

Ramie is used to make such products as industrial sewing thread, Vietnamese glutinous rice cake, Bánh gai. Ramie
leaves extract give the outer layer its dark green
packing materials, fishing nets, and filter cloths. It is also made
color.
into fabrics for household furnishings (upholstery, canvas) and
clothing, frequently in blends with other textile fibers (for
instance when used in a mixture with wool, 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 as a substitute for
traditional linen tape.

For the 2010 Prius, Toyota began using a new range of plant-derived ecological
bioplastics made from the cellulose in wood or grass instead of petroleum. One
of the two principal crops used is ramie.

Ramie is also used as an ornamental plant in eastern Asia.

In Vietnam, 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.

Ramie is also occasionally used in the construction of high performance rowing

oar shafts. Mahe Drysdale used sculling oars made with ramie during the 2018
Rio Olympics where he won Gold in the Men's 1X Scull.
a cloth from ramie fiber

Producers
China leads in the production of ramie and exports mainly to Japan and Europe. Other producers include Japan, Taiwan, the
Philippines, and Brazil.[10] Only a small percentage of the ramie produced is available on the international market. Japan,
Germany, France and the UK are the main importers, the remaining supply is used domestically.[3]
See also
International Year of Natural Fibres
Salish weaving § Nettle fibre

References
1. Ramie: Old Fiber - New Image (http://ohioline.osu.edu/hyg-fact/5000/5501.html) Archived copy (http://webarchiv
e.loc.gov/all/20020917234423/http%3A//ohioline%2Eosu%2Eedu/hyg%2Dfact/5000/5501%2Ehtml) at the Library
of Congress (September 17, 2002).
2. "ramie", entry, p. 156, vol. 13, The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1989,
ISBN 0-19-861225-7.
3. Beda Ricklin Swicofil AG Textile Services. "Swicofil" (http://www.swicofil.com/products/007ramie.html). Swicofil.
Retrieved 2013-11-09.
4. "Ramie" (http://www.wildfibres.co.uk/html/ramie.html#ramie-fibre-history). Wild Fibres. Retrieved 2016-07-31.
5. Raoul Dufy créateur d'étoffes (http://www.cs.arizona.edu/patterns/weaving/other/mlm_dufy.pdf) (PDF) (in
French). Mulhouse: Musée de l'impression sur étoffes de Mulhouse. p. 22. Retrieved 2016-07-31.
6. Kadolph SJ, Langford AL. Textiles (9th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall; 2001. ISBN 0-13-025443-6
7. A. K. Mohanty; M. Misra; G. Hinrichsen. (2000). "Biofibers, biodegradable polymers and biocomposites: An
overview". Macromol. Mater. Eng. 276-277 (1): 1–24. doi:10.1002/(SICI)1439-2054(20000301)276:1<1::AID-
MAME1>3.0.CO;2-W (https://doi.org/10.1002%2F%28SICI%291439-2054%2820000301%29276%3A1%3C1%3
A%3AAID-MAME1%3E3.0.CO%3B2-W).
8. Koichi Goda; MS Sreekala; Alexandre Gomes; Takeshi Kaji; Junji Ohgi (2006). "Improvement of plant based
natural fibers for toughening green composites -- Effect of load application during mercerization of ramie fibers".
Composites, Part A: Applied Science and Manufacturing. 37 (12): 2213–2220.
doi:10.1016/j.compositesa.2005.12.014 (https://doi.org/10.1016%2Fj.compositesa.2005.12.014).
9. Netravali, Anil N. (2004). Ramie Fiber Reinforced Natural Plastics. Natural Fibers, Plastics and Composites.
Boston, MA: Springer. pp. 321–343. doi:10.1007/978-1-4419-9050-1_18 (https://doi.org/10.1007%2F978-1-4419-
9050-1_18). ISBN 9781461347743. OCLC 912384285 (https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/912384285).
10. "Britannica Online" (http://www.britannica.com/ebc/article-9373279?query=ramie&ct=). Britannica.com. Retrieved
2013-11-09.

Further reading
Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Ramie" (https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/1911_Encyclop%C3%A6dia_Britannica/Ramie).
Encyclopædia Britannica (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press.

External links
Ian Wood Ramie: the different bast fibre crop (https://web.archive.org/web/20040414001104/http://newcrops.uq.e
du.au/newslett/ncn11162.htm) Australian New Crops Newsletter

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This page was last edited on 19 June 2019, at 18:57 (UTC).

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