What is ramie fiber?

Ramie, scientifically known as Boehmeria nivea and is known by many names such as china grass, white ramie, green ramie, or rhea. Locally in India, Ramie is popular by different names such as Rhea, Popah, KhunKoora, Kurkunda etc. Ramie is a hardy perennial that belongs to the class of bast fiber crops. Ramie belongs to the Urticaceae or Nettle family and is one of the premium and oldest vegetable fibers and that has been used for thousands of years. During the period 5000 – 3000 BC, cloth made from ramie fiber was used in mummy cloths in Egypt. Ramie has been grown in China for many centuries but it is believed that ramies have originated in the Malay Peninsula.

The ramie crop can be harvested up to 6 times a year and have a life from 6 to 20 years. The ramie plant has large heart-shaped, crenate leaves that are covered on the underside with white hairs which gives it a silvery appearance and can grow up to a height of 1-25 m. From underground rhizomes of the ramie crop, a large number of unbranched stems is produced and the inner bark of the ramie stem is used to extract ramie fibers. The bark of ramie contains gums and pectins, hence the fibers need chemical treatment to remove these gums and pectins. Ramie plants are mainly suited to tropical climates.

The fibers extracted from ramie are very fine just like silk and are naturally white in color. Being a cellulosic fiber like cotton, linen, and rayon, ramie is often blended with cotton to manufacture fabrics that resemble fine linen to coarse canvas. In the textile industry, ramie is commonly used in clothing, tablecloths, napkins, and handkerchiefs. Other than the textile industry, ramie is used to produce fishnets, canvas, upholstery fabrics, straw hats, fire hoses, sacks, reinforced polymers, twine, handicrafts, marine packaging, etc.