374 PHILIPPINE FIBER PLANTS 
is white, lustrous, and very strong and durable. It is woven 
into very fine and beautiful fabrics. The fiber lacks the elastic- 
ity 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, hanlagdsi, hilagdsi (Mindoro); alangdsi, isis- 
maya (Rizal) ; anagdsi, hinagasi, layasin, li-d-sin (Tayabas) ; anugau (Sor- 
sogon); aragdsi, tinagdsi (Camarines); isis-ngipin (Laguna); karikasin 
(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, Commercial products of India. 
