55 PHILIPPINE FIBER PLANTS 



Curculigo recurvata is an herb with a few, rather narrow, 

 long, longitudinally folded, boat-shaped leaves growing from the 

 base of the plant. The flowers are yellow and in dense heads. 



This species is distributed from the Batanes Islands to Min- 

 danao. It is common in the Mountain Province of Luzon. 



Family MUSACEAE 



Genus MUSA 

 MUSA PARADISIACA L. BANANA. 



Fibers from the sheathing leaf-stalks of the banana are em- 

 ployed in the manufacture of a light, transparent cloth known 

 locally as sinamay. In a few regions, this is the principal 

 material from which are made the waists of the native dress 

 of the Filipino women. It is also used extensively in making 

 shirts for men. But wherever abaka is abundant it takes 

 the place of banana fiber for the above purposes, the finer and 

 coarser fibers being sorted by hand into as many as five grades 

 for different textiles. 



MUSA TEXTILIS Nee. (Plate XXI). Manila hemp or Abaka. 



Musa textilis is probably the most important cultivated plant 

 endemic in the Philippines. It produces the premier cordage 

 fiber of the world. In appearance it is almost identical with 

 the banana, to which it is closely related. The fiber was known 

 to the Filipinos long before the Spanish occupation. When 

 Magellan arrived at Cebu the weaving of the fiber was wide- 

 spread in the Islands, and the plant is reported to have been 

 wild in much the same places as those in which it is now cul- 

 tivated. At the present time, cultivation is carried on to such 

 an extent that it is questionable as to whether there are any 

 wild plants. Miller * has given a concise history of the abaka 

 industry. 



The commercial fibers are the fibro-vascular strands of the 

 sheathing leaf-stalks that make up the so-called trunk of the 

 abaka plant. In stripping the fiber the trunk is cut down, the 

 leaves removed, and the fiber-producing portion slit into strips. 

 These are pulled under a knife applied to a piece of smooth 

 hard wood. The extracted fibers are then hung up and dried. 

 The chief uses of abaka are for the manufacture of ropes, 

 binder twines, the so-called tagal braids, and textiles. Locally 

 abaka is used for manufacturing textiles, baskets, hats, trays, 

 bags, laces, lamp shades, belts, matting, and furniture. The 



* Miller, H. H., Abaca. Philippine Craftsman, Volume 1 (1912), pages 

 120 to 140. 



