go PHILIPPINE FIBER PLANTS 



Malachra capitata is a coarse, erect annual 0.5 to 2 meters 

 in height and is covered with very coarse hair. The leaves 

 are alternate, from 5 to 15 centimeters in diameter, somewhat 

 rounded, and slightly lobed. The base is heart-shaped. The 

 petals are yellow and about 1 centimeter long. 



This species is common in waste places throughout the 

 Philippines. It is a native of tropical America. 



MALACHRA FASCIATA Turcz. Paang-BALIWIS. 



Local names: Annctbo (Union); bakembdkes (Itneg, Ilocano) ; malabitis- 

 pdpa (Bataan) ; pdang-balhvis (Tagalog). 



The bast of this species is colored olive buff. A strong rope 

 used for clotheslines and general purposes is made from it. 

 The bast is prepared by retting. The entire plant is cut and 

 kept in fresh water for about ten days, after which the bast 

 is easily stripped and the fiber largely freed from extraneous 

 matter by washing. King found the rope to have a tensile 

 strength of 637 kilos per square centimeter, which wetting 

 decreased 15 per cent. 



Malachra fasciata is a coarse, half-woody herb reaching a 

 height of 0.5 to 1 meter. The leaves are 10 to 15 centimeters 

 long, very hairy, have a rounded base, and are cut nearly to the 

 base into five narrow lobes which have toothed margins. The 

 corolla is pink and about 1 centimeter long. 



The species is a native of tropical America, but is now tho- 

 roughly naturalized and widely distributed in the Philippines 

 at low altitudes, and is locally very abundant in wet places. 



Genus MALVASTRUM 



MALVASTRUM COROMANDELINUM Garke. Salsaluyut. 



Local names: Babara (Pangasinan) ; gagabiiten (Union); salsaluyut 

 (Union); tachin-kabayo (Batanes Islands); tdkim-bdka (Ilocos Norte). 



The stems of this plant are used in making brooms. 



Malvastrum coromandelinum is an erect, somewhat hairy, 

 branched, half-woody perennial, 1 meter or less in height. The 

 leaves are 2 to 5 centimeters long, the apex pointed, the base 

 usually rounded, the margins irregularly toothed. The flowers 

 are yellow with petals about 8 millimeters long. The fruit 

 consists of eight to twelve kidney-shaped divisions, 2 to 3 milli- 

 meters long, and has three short, straight projections. 



This species is a native of tropical America, but is now widely 

 distributed in the tropics of both hemispheres. It is common 

 in waste places throughout the Philippines. 



