364 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 leafstalks 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 Née. (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 leafstalks 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. 
