52 PHILIPPINE FIBER PLANTS 



throughout the Archipelago. In some islands, particularly in 

 parts of Palawan, it has become thoroughly naturalized. In 

 the Philippines a very fine and highly prized cloth, known as 

 piiia, is made from the fibers of the pineapple leaves. The 

 production of the fiber and the manufacture of the cloth is 

 chiefly confined to the island of Panay, the center of the in- 

 dustry being the towns in the vicinity of Iloilo. When grown 

 for fibers, pineapples are closely crowded in planting, the ob- 

 ject being the production of long leaves. Piiia cloth, either 

 plain or embroidered, is exported in considerable quantities. 



Family JUNCACEAE 

 Genus J UNCUS 

 JUNCUS EFFUSUS L. (Plate XX). PiNGGOT or MATTING RUSH. 



Local name: Ping got (Bon toe). 



According to Muller *, experiments conducted at Baguio 

 showed that a fine straw could be prepared from the coarse 

 stalks. This is done by splitting them, removing the pulp, and 

 drying the straws quickly in the sun so as to make them curl 

 up. Flat straws can be prepared by removing the pulp, flat- 

 tening the stalks, and drawing them between the thumb and 

 a piece of wood. 



Juncus effusus has round stalks a meter or more in length. 

 The base of the stalk is surrounded by short sheathing leaves. 

 The seeds are small and yellow and occur in brownish capsules, 

 which ultimately divide into three parts. 



This species is found growing in marshes on the mountains 

 from Luzon to Mindanao. 



Family LILIACE^ 



Genus SANSEVIERIA 

 SANSEVIERIA ZEYLANICA (L.) Willd. SiNAWA. 



Local names: Aspe-dspe (Pampanga) ; hanydt, kaliot, sigre (Nueva 

 Vizcaya) ; buntut-palos (Tayabas) ; kakarohai, pakarohai, tigi (Isabela) ; 

 lengua de leon (Sorsogon) ; rabo de leon (Ilocos Norte, Union) ; 7^abo de 

 tigre (Antique) ; sabild (Iloilo) ; sinawd (Nueva Ecija) ; tigre (Laguna, 

 Bohol) . 



The fiber of this plant is used only occasionally in the Philip- 

 pines. It is sometimes mixed with pina in weaving fabrics. 

 The fiber is very strong and, according to Dodge t, is used by 



* Muller, T., Industrial fiber plants of the Philippines. Bureau of 

 Education Bulletin Number 49 (1913), page 60. 



t Dodge, C. R., A descriptive catalogue of useful fiber plants of the 

 world. U. S. Department of Agriculture. Fiber investigations. Report 

 No. 9 (1897), page 290. 



