Boehmeria nivea (L.) Gaudich.
Family
Urticaceae
Synonyms
Urtica nivea L., Boehmeria tenacissima Gaudich., Boehmeria utilis Blume.
Vernacular Names
| Malaysia |
Rami, rami-rami. |
| English |
Ramie, rhea, China grass. |
| Indonesia |
Rami (Indonesian), haramay (Sundanese). |
| Philippines | Amirai (Tagalog), labnis (Ilokano), lipang-a so (Tagalog). |
| Cambodia | Thmey. |
| Laos | Pan. |
| Thailand |
Po-paan (centra!), po-bo (northern), taan khamoi (southeastern). |
| Vietnam | c[aa]y gai. |
| French |
Ramie. |
Geographical Distributions
Boehmeria nivea probably originates in western and central China and has been cultivated in China since antiquity. Cultivation spread from China to other Asian countries. B. nivea plants and products were brought to Europe in the 18th Century and experimental plantings were established in many tropical, subtropical and temperate countries. With the advent of synthetic fibres, however, the cultivation of B. nivea plummeted, though it is still grown in many tropical and subtropical countries, including the Philippines, Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos. It has occasionally escaped from cultivation and naturalised.
Description
Boehmeria nivea is a monoecious, erect, fast-growing perennial herb or small shrub that can reach 1-2(-3) m tall, with long rhizome and tuberous storage roots. The stem is usually unbranched and hollow, 8-16 mm in diametre, initially green and hairy, brownish and woody. The inner bark layer yields the ramie fibre.
The leaves are arranged alternate, simple and with 3 prominent basal veins. The stipules are axillary, connate at base, linear-lance-shaped and measure up to 1.5 cm long. The petiole is 6-12 cm long and pubescent. The blade is broadly ovate, triangular to suborbicular, measuring 7-20 cm x 4-18 cm, with wedge-shaped to subcordate base, with coarsely dentate to dentate-serrate or crenate margin, abruptly longacuminate at apex, green and scabrid above, hairless and green or white appressed-pubescent below.
The inflorescence is an axillary, racemose and measures 3-8 cm long. Each branch bears several crowded or well-separated clusters of unisexual flowers. The male clusters are small and usually with 3-10 flowers while the female clusters are larger and usually with 10-30 flowers. The male flower is short pedicelled, with 3-5 lobed perianth, with stamens as many as lobes and incurved with persistent rudiment of pistillode. The female flower is sessile, with tubular perianth, 2-4-lobed, greenish to pinkish, pistil with 1-celled ovary with one ovule, with exserted style, slender and hairy on one side and with slender stigma.
The fruit is a nearly globular to ovoid achene, about 1 mm in diametre, enclosed by the persistent perianth, hairy, crustaceous and brown yellow. The seed is nearly globular to ovoid, slightly less than 1 mm in diametre and dark brown.
Ecology / Cultivation
Boehmeria nivea is found in almost equatorial conditions in Indonesia and the Philippines to about 38°N in Japan and South Korea. It is grown at average temperatures ranging from 20°C during the cropping season in temperate regions to 28°C in the tropics. Frost may destroy the rhizomes; this can be prevented by mulching with leaves or compost. To grow properly, B. nivea requires a minimum of 100-140 mm rainfall per month. Short days promote flowering and ramie tolerates partial shade. For optimal fibre production, B. nivea requires rich, well-drained, sandy loams, with a pH of 5.5-6.5 (4.8-5.6 for peat soils). With heavy manuring, it can also be grown on less favourable soil types. B. nivea is extremely sensitive to waterlogging.
In Philippine experiments, it was most sensitive to flooding immediately after cutting and least sensitive during the middle vegetative stage (20 days after cutting). The duration of flooding significantly affected the height, stem weight and dry fibre yield, but had no significant effect on the fineness or diametre of the fibre.
Line Drawing / Photograph
References
- Plant Resources of South-East Asia No.17: Fibre plants.
