BSCI 124 Lecture Notes
Undergraduate Program in Plant Biology, University of Maryland
LECTURE 27 - PLANT FIBER MATERIALS:
CLOTH, PAPER; SPICES AND HERBS
I. Fiber definitions
-
Botanical definition: Fiber = long narrow tapering cell, dead and hollow
at maturity, thick cell wall composed mostly of
cellulose
and lignin, rigid, for
support, found mainly in vascular tissue.
-
Commercial definition: Fiber = long narrow flexible material, may be animal
(hair, wool), mineral (asbestos), synthetic (nylon, dacron), or plant. See
this list of
natural fibers
-
Nutritional definition: Fiber = indigestible material in food
II. Types of plant fibers used in commerce; may be single cells or
groups of cells.
A. Textile fibers:
-
Surface fibers grow from the surface of seeds (cotton), leaves, or fruits
(coconut coir)
-
Soft or bast fibers are found in the phloem (inner bark) of dicotyledonous
stems (flax for linen; jute; hemp; ramie).
-
Hard or leaf fibers are found in monocot leaf vascular bundles (sisal, Manila
hemp, pineapple).
B. Papermaking fibers are single cells of cotton or delignified wood.
C. Minor types:
-
Brush and broom fibers (broomstraw)
-
Plaiting and weaving fibers, not single cells (palm leaves, grain straw,
papyrus, bamboo)
-
Filling fibers (kapok, milkweed, cattails)
-
Felting fibers (paper mulberry, lace bark)
III. Commercially important plant fibers
A.
Cotton
(Gossypium
spp. )
-
Origin and history of use:
Gossypium
is a genus of 39 species found worldwide, four species are domesticated:
-
Gossypium herbaceum from S. Africa and G. arboreum from India,
both independently domesticated, especially India, spread to Arabia, Europe.
Both are diploid species, have short staple (fiber).
-
G. hirsutum upland cotton, domesticated in Central America, predominant
cotton grown today, long staple, tetraploid hybrid of wild South American
diploid species and Old World G. herbaceum.
-
G. barbadense, Sea Island, pima, or Egyptian cotton, domesticated
in Andes, spread early to Caribbean, also long staple, tetraploid hybrid
of New World and Old World diploid species.
-
Cultivation and processing
-
Cotton boll = fruit of cotton plant, splits open and dries, cotton lint clings
to seeds, harvested by hand or machine. A common pest is the
boll
weevil
-
Eli
Whitney invented the cotton gin in 1792, separated lint from seeds. This
made possible the plantation economy of U.S. South based on cotton and
slave labor, and was a key element
in the industrial
Revolution.. Cotton dust can be a hazard.
-
Cotton seed
is pressed for
cooking
oil, and the residue, cottonseed oil meal, is used for animal feed.
-
Cotton lint from bales is carded (straightened), combed, bleached.
-
Spinning
of lint while stretching binds individual fibers into yarn or thread; depends
on the natural twist in cotton fibers. Thread then woven into cloth.
-
Cotton is a major agricultural commodity in the
United States
and
much
of the world. Widely cultivated in China, Uzbekistan/Turkmenista, India,
Pakistan. French West Africa, Brazil and Australia -- all of whom export
cotton to the United States.
B. Flax
(Linum
usitatisimum), plant source of linen
-
Origin and history of use
-
Used in prehistoric times in Swiss lake dwellings, many sites in Near East.
Especially cultivated in Egypt, then Greece, Rome. Later centers of production
in Belgium and Ireland. Now mainly grown in China, former USSR republics,
W. Europe.
-
Linen, Linum, lingerie, line all derived from same root word.
-
-
Culture and processing of flax
-
Flax grows in cool climates, to height of 4 ft; unbranched varieties for
fiber, branched for oilseed.
-
Flax is harvested by combine that separates seed head, then pulls up stem
from ground.
-
Processing: [REQUIRED
READING], also
here.
-
Retting = rotting for 1-2 weeks on ground, or days in water; removes soft
tissue, leaves vascular bundles.
-
Breaking = pounding or rolling, frees fibers; scutching = scraping off particles;
hackling = combing; then spinning, bleaching, weaving.
-
Used widely for many
products, including fine linens and even early
condoms
C. Minor textile fibers
-
Ramie [REQUIRED
READING] (Boehmeria nivea): native of China, grows 6 ft high, longest
fibers, processed like flax. Used mostly with other fibers for sweaters,
knitwear.
Relatively
inexpensive.
-
Hemp (Cannabis sativa), different varieties than drug plant. Native
of China,
processed
like flax [see pictures of the
production process]; comes in a
variety of forms and
textures; used for canvas, rope and
paper. Hemp cloth made in
Nimes, France = denim; in Genoa, Italy, for jeans. Original Levi jeans were
hemp, now
cotton. However,
clothes
are still made of hemp.
-
Jute (Corchorus spp.), native of India and Bangladesh, processed like
flax, used to make burlap, carpet backing, rope. Main export crop of Bangladesh;
India is a
major producer as well.
D. Other fibers
-
Sisal
[REQUIRED READING] (Agave sisalana) and henequen (A. fourcroydes)
are desert succulents from Mexico and Central America; leaf fibers used to
make rope, mats
-
Kapok (Ceiba
pentandra), seed fiber of South American tree; fibers are hollow
and waterproof, used for life preservers, parkas.
Oil is also
produced from the seeds.
-
Kenaf
(Hibiscus cannabinus), a common cultivated garden plant in our area,
is an excellent source of
fiber
that holds promise for
paper making.
It is now being exploited for
several
products. [REQUIRED READING]
-
Rayon, a synthetic fiber from viscose, a chemical derivative of cellulose
from wood pulp. Cellophane is chemically identical but made into sheets instead
of fibers.
IV. Paper
-
Definitions
-
Wood pulp = slurry
of water and separated
wood fibers.
-
Paper = thin sheet made by spreading pulp on a screen, draining and drying
it.
-
Pulp processing [REQUIRED
READING] (see a graphic
depiction) and the
manufacturing of
paper
-
Mechanical grinding, makes cheapest pulp and paper, brown color if not bleached,
yellows readily. Used for newsprint, catalogs, paper towels.
-
Sulfite or sulfate processes use strong chemicals to dissolve lignin, leave
cellulose for white paper. Spent chemicals and
lignin create major pollution
problems. The use of
enzymes in the paper
industry may solve some of the problems
-
Papermaking consists of allowing pulp to flow onto a moving screen, where
the forming paper is quickly drained, then pressed and dried. Dry paper can
then be sized = treated with starch or clay to fill holes, make smooth surface.
-
Types of paper:
-
Printing and writing
papers,
-
newsprint,
-
tissue, and
-
packing and industrial
paper.
-
Types of paperboard and packaging papers
-
Kraft paper and paper
bags,
-
bleached and
unbleached paperboard,
-
recycled
paperboard, and
-
container or
corrugated containers.
-
History of Paper
-
A bit of history
-
First paper made of the sedge
papyrus from
which the word
paper is derived
-
The
evolution
of writing was closely tied with the ability to make paper
Other sites of interest for fibers:
King Cotton
Cotton Online Resource
U.S.D.A. Cotton
Division
Cotton
by students at Highland Park Elementary School
Shroud of Turin
is made of linen
Hemp Textiles
International: Hemp fibers and textiles
"Fiber
Wars: The Extinction of Kentucky Hemp" by David P. West, a major review
and well worth reading!!
Cannabis-marijuana: a detailed site.
Pulp and Paper
Net
Museum of Papermaking- virtual
tour
Paper encyclopedia
Papyrus
collection at Duke University
Enzyme
technology for pulp bleaching: a technical report
Environmental performance in the pulp and paper industry:
a report for the American Forest and Paper Association
Cotton
(Gossypium hirsutum) by James A. Duke
Flax
Hemp
Jute
V. SPICES
AND HERBS
-
Loose definitions: Herbs are aromatic leaves, spices are other aromatic plant
organs (stems, fruits, seeds, roots, bark). Essential oils are flavor and
aroma components, often used instead of whole plant parts.
Herbs
and
spices
are used in cooking; spices also for perfumery, dyeing, medicine, preserving
food (originally embalming, in ancient Egypt).
-
Brief history of
spice trade:
-
Black Pepper
(Piper
nigrum), cinnamon, ginger
(Zingiber
officinale) imported by Greeks from India, through Arab traders.
Romans sent ships direct from Red Sea ports. Greeks had many local
herbs.
-
Trade monopoly by Arabs and Venetians, 1200s.
-
Age of Exploration: Monopolies established sequentially by Portuguese, Dutch,
British and French, importing spices from the East. Monopolies gradually
broken by war, smuggling of plants to new plantations.
-
New World spices imported to Europe by Spanish; never had the importance
of Old World spices.
-
Briefer description of spices and herbs:
-
Old world spices
-
Cinnamon
(Cinnamonium
zeylanicum), inner bark of cinnamon tree, India; closely related
cassia, traded as cinnamon in U.S.
-
Black pepper,
fermented and dried berries of pepper vine, India and East Indies.
White pepper
= same fruit with black outer portion removed.
-
Ginger,
fresh or dried rhizome of monocot herb.
-
Turmeric
(Curcuma
longa), dried rhizome, related to ginger, used in curry powder, prepared
mustard, for yellow dye.
-
Cloves
(Eugenia
caryophyllus), dried flower buds of small evergreen tree from Spice
Islands, East Indies.
-
Nutmeg
and mace, from nutmeg tree, from Spice Islands, East Indies. Mace
(Myristica
fragrans) is dried aril, a red netlike tissue covering the pit of
the fruit. Nutmeg is the dried seed in the pit.
-
New World spices
-
Chili peppers
(Capsicum
spp.): fruits of herbaceous plants from Mexico, C. and S. America
discovered
by Columbus [REQUIRED READING - introduction, origin and exploitation
only]. Hot compound is capsaicin, also used as painkiller, as for example
the drug
Zostrix
used for arthritis. Many varieties, shapes, sizes, pungency. Commonly
made into
chili
powder. Modern bell pepper is a chili that lost its hot.
See The
Chili-Heads summary of
the
chemical structure of the capsainoids
-
Vanilla
(Vanilla
planifolia), fermented and dried fruit of an orchid from Mexico,
called vanilla bean.
-
Allspice
(Pimenta
dioica), dried fruits of Caribbean tree; so named because it tastes
like combination of cinamon, cloves, nutmeg.
-
Herbs
-
Mint family, most from Mediterranean: peppermint, spearmint
(Mentha
spp.),
basil
(Ocimum
basilicum),
thyme,
oregano,
marjoram
(Origanum
majorana),
rosemary
(Rosmarinus
officinalis),
sage
(Salvia
officinalis). Leaves are used.
-
Parsley family, mostly Mediterranean, leaves and dried fruits:
parsley
(Petroselinum
crispum),
dill
(Anethum
graveolens),
caraway
(Carum
carvi),
cilantro,
chervil
(Anthriscus
cerefolium),
coriander
(Coriandrum
sativum),
anise
(Pimpinella
anisum),
cumin
(Cuminum
cyminum),
celery
(Apium
graveolens),
fennel
(Foeniculum
vulgare).
-
Mustard family, Old World: white, brown, and black
mustard
seeds
(Brassica
juncea) (yellow is from turmeric), horseradish root
(Armoracia
lapathifolia), Japanese wasabi.
-
Lily family:
onion
(Allium
cepa), shallots
(Allium
cepa), leeks
(Allium
tricoccum),
garlic
(Allium
stativum) (all bulbs),
chives
(leaves).
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124 main page
Last revised: August 1998 - Barnett