Musa textilis Née

Identification

Type de fibres	Leaf
Average fibre lenght	2 - 6mm
Average fibre width	24µm (16-32µm)
Fibre ends	Tapering pointed, rounded.
Striations, cross-markings, flexion creases	Very faint and very fine.
Associated cells	Rectangular epidermal cells, typical stomata. Parenchyma, silica cells, and short, pitted vessel elements.
Special features	Smooth, lustrous fibers with irregular width. Transversal cut: polygonal oval shape, thin walls.
Herzberg staining	Blue/Gray
Graff 'C' staining	Blue/Gray

Botanical classification

Musa textilis Née

Order:

Zingiberales

Family:

Musaceae

Plant growing area

Native to Philippines and Indonesia (Borneo and Sumatra). Cultivated in Latin America.

China (Guangdong, Guangxi, Yunnan). Thailand.

Use area in the manufacture of paper

China, Korea, Japan, Thailand.

Thailand:

North of Thailand

Plant cultivation and use

Abaca is a type of banana tree which fruit is not edible. It is a pseudostem plant reaching approximately 6m in height and which can live 10 years. The leaves grow from the trunk. It is grown in well-drained loamy soils.
The qualities of the plant to produce long fibers used in making ropes are known to Europeans since the 19th century. They were traditionally used in the Philippines for making fishing nets and ropes resistant to salt water.
The use of the plant to make textile fibers and paper, bags and carpets, is recent.
The very long fibers are extracted from the stem.

China:

Musa textilis may have been used in southern China to make clothes.

Japan:

It is a modern paper fiber in Japan. Abaca is used in the manufacture of kairyo hanshi or improved hanshi papers, after World War II.

In Okinawa Prefecture fibers of a local banana (musa paradisiach) are used to make paper.

Korea:

It is a modern paper fiber in Korea.

Thailand:

This is essentially a modern fiber used to make fancy paper and handicrafts. It is also used to make writing or printing papers.

Preparation process for making paper

Harvesting takes place every 3-8 months. The plant should grow 18 to 25 months before harvesting.

Collecting the fibers is performed in three stages: steaming that allows the separation of primary and secondary sheath of the leaf, stripping to get the fibres and drying in the sun.

The stem of the banana is used to make fibers for textiles: the rod is separated into strips and scraped (between a board and a knife blade) to remove the spongy part and separate the fibers. These are dried in the sun so they separate. They must be then sorted by combing and put into bundles.

Vernacular names

Chinese

Jiao ma	蕉麻
Manila ma	马尼拉麻

Japanese

Manira asa	マニラアサ, マニラあさ

Korean

Manilla sam	마닐라 삼

French

Abaca
Chanvre de Manille

English

Abaca

English

Manilla hemp

Paper names

In Asia and particularly in China, Korea and Japan, the papers are intended for a wide range of use: Papers for calligraphy and art, Papers for ceremonies, Paper as a medium of exchange, money paper, Papers for making clothes, wall hangings and bedding, Papers for architecture, interior design, Papers for crafts of various kinds, for domestic purposes and leisure. The names assigned to the paper refers to different notions: The material used, The place of production, The method of production, Appearance, Dimensions, Use, The name of an artist or a studio etc.

Japan:

Suffixes kami, gami, shi = paper.

In Japan kozo papers are the most numerous.

Papers

Japan

Kairyo hanshi	改良半紙	Kariryo hanshi
Wara asa gasenshi

Used part of the plant:

Leaf

Stem

Use for paper making:

Fiber

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Musa textilis Née

Musa textilis Née

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