55 PHILIPPINE FIBER PLANTS 



is white, lustrous, and very strong and durable. It is woven 

 into very fine and beautiful fabrics. The fiber lacks the elasti- 

 city of wool and silk and the flexibility of cotton. Cloth made 

 from it is therefore rather harsh. The chief objections to a 

 more extensive use of ramie are that it is very difficult to separate 

 the fiber from the tissue in which it is embedded, and that the 

 process requires considerable manual labor. In the Philippines 

 the fiber is used in making strings, blankets, and cloth. 



Watt * gives an extensive account of ramie. He says that 

 Boehmeria demands the best soil, and that the fields have to 

 be manured and carefully tended. 



Ramie has been the subject of very extensive investigations, 

 and the literature concerning it is voluminous. The yield of 

 fiber is apparently very much greater in temperate and sub- 

 tropical countries than in tropical ones. Owing to this fact 

 and to the greater cost of labor in the Philippines than in 

 China, it would appear that the growing of ramie on a com- 

 mercial scale in the Philippines is impracticable. 



Boehmeria nivea is a hairy shrub reaching a height of about 

 2 meters. The leaves are alternate, pointed at the tip, abruptly 

 pointed at the base, have toothed margins, and are from 7 to 16 

 centimeters in length. The flowers are small. 



This species is quite extensively cultivated in the mountain 

 region of northern Luzon, particularly by the non-christian 

 tribes. In Ifugao and neighboring subprovinces nearly every 

 family cultivates a small amount. It is occasionally cultivated 

 in central Luzon, where its value as a fiber plant is not appre- 

 ciated, and it also occurs in the Batanes Islands. 



Genus LEUCOSYKE 



LEUCOSYKE CAPITELLATA (Poir.) Wedd. AlagaSI. 



Local names: Alagdsi, hanlagcisi, hilagdsi (Mindoro) ; alaiigdsi, isis- 

 mdya (Rizal) ; anagdsi, hinagdsi, laydsin, li-d-sin (Tayabas) ; anugau (Sor- 

 sogon) ; aragdsi, tinagdsi (Camarines) ; isis-ngi'pin (Lag^una) ; kaynkasin 

 (Nueva Ecija) ; lagdsi (Laguna, Mindoro). 



This species produces strong bast fibers. 



Leucosyke capitellata is a tree reaching a height of 8 to 10 

 meters. The leaves are alternate, pointed at the apex, abruptly 

 pointed at the base, hairy, the lower surface whitish, the margins 

 toothed. The flowers are small and whitish, and borne in com- 

 pact heads. 



This species is distributed from Luzon to Palawan. 



* Watt, CommerGial products of India. 



