Comments on: Ramie ruminations

By: saaidar

saaidar — Mon, 21 Sep 2009 17:04:11 +0000

hi i am looking for examples fo ramie and linen fabrics

By: Dave Wood

Dave Wood — Sun, 07 Jun 2009 15:40:54 +0000

Luigi: In the ‘good old days’ Kew Gardens had an interest in economic botany — mainly to support crops that could be add value to colonial agriculture. Ramie figures in the fascinating contents of the second volume of the Bulletin of Miscellaneous Information of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Vol. 1 1887: Teff; Oil of ben; Cape boxwood; Hemps – Mauritius, Sisal, Manila etc.; Annatto (Bixa) tree tomato; Choco (Sechium); Arracacia; Mexican whisk; Introduction of brazil nut to Australia. Vol. 2 1888: Colonial fruit; Fosteronia rubber; Patchouli; Vanilla; Ureras fibre; Tea; Ipecacuana; Brazilian gum arabic; Shantung cabbage; Job’s tears; Star anise; Tea oil; Demerara pink root; Yoruba indigo (Lonchocarpus cyanescens); Ramie (Boehmeria nivea); Copal, Jamaica India-rubber (Forsteronia floribunda).

I seem to remember that ramie fibre was brought to England for trials on processing (it’s gummy). I’ve seen it growing somewhere ‘out East’, Indonesia or Taiwan.

As an economic botanist I admit to never having heard of some of these species. And this ‘Bulletin’ became ‘Kew Bulletin’ – fine for taxonomists but of little use for economic crop production.

By: Luigi

Luigi — Mon, 27 Apr 2009 12:26:12 +0000

May well be, for all I know. Ornithology, at the very least. But thanks, slip corrected.

By: Bertie

Bertie — Sun, 26 Apr 2009 09:46:15 +0000

Julian Barnes? didn’t know he’s in biodiversity also

By: Jeremy

Jeremy — Fri, 24 Apr 2009 10:29:57 +0000

@Christopher Taylor - Amen to the fibres in nettles. Last time Luigi nibbled nettles I was prompted to write a little thing myself about cutting down nettles. A sharp scythe, that's what one needs. None of this sodium chlorate rubbish. As Eric well knew.

By: Christopher Taylor

Christopher Taylor — Fri, 24 Apr 2009 10:07:24 +0000

One thing I discovered a while ago when looking up ramie was that nettles themselves (Urtica) contain fibre that can be used in weaving. Nettle fibre isn’t used so much currently because, to be honest, it’s kind of rubbish, but it did have a usage spike in Britain during World War II when better-quality materials such as linen were in short supply.

By: Jeremy

Jeremy — Fri, 24 Apr 2009 08:19:16 +0000

@Luigi - Depends on your comparator. Some of your clothes must be cheaper than others (of your clothes), although they may not be cheaper than my clothes.

By: Luigi

Luigi — Fri, 24 Apr 2009 08:14:04 +0000

I don’t wear cheaper clothes.

By: Jeremy

Jeremy — Fri, 24 Apr 2009 08:12:24 +0000

You should have asked me -- or read the labels inside your cheaper clothes. The use of ramie, especially mixed with other natural fibres such as cotton and linen, rocketed in the 1980s as a result of trade rulings on the import quotas for various types of fabric. Ramie: Old Fiber - New Image is a reasonable starting point. But don't go there, unless you want to disappear down the rabbit hole of international trade regulations.