390 PHILIPPINE FIBER PLANTS 
Genus SIDA 
SIDA ACUTA Burm. f. TAKLING-BAKA. 
Local names: Attdi-na-bdka (Ibanak); basbdasot (Bontoc); escobilla 
(Laguna, Bisaya); herbara (Ilocos Sur); kastile (Bulacan) ; maratakkim- 
bdka (loko in Tarlac); salik (Basilan) ; surusighid (Camarines) ; takkim- 
baka (llocos Norte, Abra, Isabela, Pangasinan, Union); taking-baka 
(Tarlac); takling-badka (Pangasinan); uaualisin (Bulacan); ualis-walisan 
(Tarlac, Nueva Ecija, Bulacan). 
The fiber of Sida acuta is very pretty; its color marguerite 
yellow. It is fine, filamentous, soft, and very lustrous, having 
an appearance like silk. It possesses only medium strength, 
but makes a handsome rope. Ilokos consider this rope a superior 
product on account of its durability, its pleasing color, and its 
gloss. It is used for general purposes and particularly where 
nonstaining fiber is desired. King tested rope made from fiber 
which had been retted about ten days in fresh water and sub- 
sequently cleaned. He found it to have a tensile strength of 
475 kilos per square centimeter, which wetting increased about 
6 per cent. 
The stems are used for making brooms and baskets. 
Sida acuta is a slender shrub reaching a meter in height. It 
has elongated, slender branches. The leaves are alternate, 3 to 
5 centimeters long, and with toothed margins. The flowers are 
yellow and about 1.3 centimeters in diameter. 
This species is abundant in wet places throughout the Phil- 
ippines. 
SIDA CORDIFOLIA L. 
Local name: Albahdca (Spanish in Surigao). 
According to Watt,* this plant yields a fine, white fiber. 
Sida cordifolia is an erect, half-woody shrub, 0.4 to 1 meter 
in height. It is covered with soft, velvety hairs mixed with 
which are numerous longer hairs. The leaves are alternate, 
heart-shaped at the base, somewhat rounded at the apex, with 
toothed margins, and from 1.5 to 4.5 centimeters in length. The 
flowers are yellow and occur in the axils of the leaves. 
This species occurs in open waste places and is common and 
widely distributed in the Philippines. 
SIDA MYSORENSIS W. & A. LAGKITAN. 
Local names: Damong-mabdho, lagkitan, mdrbas (Rizal); marabas (Ba- 
taan) ; the last two corruptions of Spanish ‘‘malvas”’. 
The bast fiber from this species is used for making rope. 
Sida mysorensis is a hairy shrub about a meter in height. 
Fee 
* Watt, Commercial products of India. 
