NOTE ON CHINA GRASS. 179 



Note on China Grass. 

 By G. F. Scott Elliot, M.A., B.Sc, F.L.S., F.R.G.S. 



[Read 22nd February, 1898.] 



China Grass, Rhea, or Rami, is derived from two varieties of a 

 plant belonging to the nettle order, Boehmeria nivea, Gaudich. 



Its history has been a very chequered one, — fibres have 

 proved disastrous in many cases, and none more so than the Rami. 

 There is a statement that it has been found in the Egyptian 

 tombs as a mummy wrapper, but I cannot trace the authority 

 for this. 



It is mentioned in the Ramayana of India, and its possible use 

 as a fibre was pointed out by the botanist Lobel, who flourished 

 in the time or Queen Elizabeth. It seemed to have considerable 

 prospects in 1872, but unfortunately in that year the price 

 suddenly fell from £80 a ton to £2-i, and after this it seemed 

 to have been quite thrown into the background. 



Last year, however, seemed to show that there was a prospect 

 of its really coming forward again, and it is on account of this that 

 I thought that these few notes might be of interest to the Society. 

 The first point is the confusion betwixt Boehmeria nivea proper 

 and a varietv called tenacissima. The true B. nivea, or China 

 Grass, can be grown in China, Mexico, i.e., in the temperate zone. 

 Dr. Morris, e.ff., states that it can be cultivated at Kew. The 

 variety tenacissima is wholly confined to the tropics, and belongs 

 to such places as Java, Sumatra, and Assam. A cold winter is 

 fatal to this form, whilst the true B. nivea flourishes in North 

 China, where tlie winter is severe. 



Another difliculty is the confusion of names. The ordinary 

 commercial names seem to be applied as follows : — '"' Rhea " to the 

 stems or bark with the brown epidermal layer still attached ; 

 '•' Rhea ribbons '' to the cortical bark, with or without the 



