142 USEFUL FIBER PLANTS OF THE WORLD. 



Hemp (Cannabis satvea . breaking approximately at a strain of 95 pounds for the first 

 named to 80 pounds for the latter. It i> 4 to 5 feet in length, and resembles best 

 Petersburg hemp, compared -with -which Royle considers it eqnal, if not superior. 

 Although its cultivation is limited, it is regularly grown for its fiber, which is used 

 for the same purpose as sunn. The liber of C. r< tusa is sold in India as a form of sunn 

 hemp, i . - another species which yields liber, while C. striata is grown for 



liber "by the Santals in Chutia Nagpur." 



Croton gossypiifolius. Bois Sa^i;. 



A species of Euphorbiaceai found in Trinidad. The plants of this genus are chiefly 



valuable in pharmacy, but J. H. Hart states that the above Bpecies yickl> a coarse 

 fiber. 



Crowia Br. Guian. . Ananas sativa. 



E. F. im Thurn states, in his work Among the Indians of Guiana, that Crowia is 

 derived from a Bromelia. Sometimes written Krowa. See note under Ananas. 



Cryptostegia grandiflora. 



Exogen. Asclepiadacen . Climbing shrub. 



Two species of the genus are recorded, from India and Madagascar. The plants 

 of this genus abound in milky juice, which, when exposed for a short time to the sun. 

 is converted iuto pure caoutchouc. 



Bast Fiber. — The only mention of the plants a> producing fiber is a note i'i Spon 

 to the effect that C. grandiflora yields a fine, strong liber, resembling flax, which may 

 be spun into the finest yarn. 



Cuba bast see Hibiscus elatus). 



Ciibi Hopi Indian). Rhm trilobata. 



Cuchilixiu Yuc.). Asclepias eurassavica. 



Culcitium canescens. 



An interesting species belonging to the Composite, the generic name having been 

 derived from Culcita, a cushion. The plants of the genus are woolly herbs or small 

 bushes found in the Andes of Peru and Colombia, near the snow limit. Peruvian 

 name, Huira-huira. 



Surface Fiber. — The Treasury of Botany states that all parts of the plants of 

 this genus, except the upper surface of the leaves of a few. are covered with dense 

 white or rusty colored woolly hairs, which serve as beds for those travelers who may 

 be forced to spend the ni^ht in the open air at this great elevation. The manner of 

 making the bed is. by first amassing a quantity of the plants, and, after taking the 

 soft woolly pappus from the flowers, laying the branches, with the leaves attached, 

 on the ground. On this first layer the soft warm pappus hairs are scattered, then a 

 third layer is placed of leaves only, and. lastly, another layer of pappus hairs. On 

 this couch the traveler reposes after the toils of the day without fear of frozen limbs. 

 Dorca states that the fiber of C. canescens is used in Peru for torches. The genus 

 Espeletia (which see also belongs to this family and. growing on the high Andes, 

 bears much resemblance to this in the woolly clothing of the leaves and stems, but 

 the present is easily distinguished from it, the florets being all tubular, while in 

 Espeletia there is an outer row of strap-shaped llorets in the flower head. 



Cumare (Venez.). See Astrocaryum tucuma. 



Curculigo latifolia. 



The Bpecies of this genus of imaryllidacea are found in South Africa, New Holland, 

 and India. Th< oamed is found in Borneo, where its "leaves are soaked in 



watei and beaten, which Loosens the liber, which is afterwards prepared and woven 

 into a very close cloth, known as Lamba" I Off. Guide Kew Mus.). 



