Knowra Fiber crop Fiber crop A plant grown primarily for fibers used in textiles, cordage, paper, or other materials. Its useful fibers may come from seeds, stems, leaves, or fruits.
Natural fiber : A fiber obtained from plants, animals, or minerals rather than synthesized from chemical compounds. Fiber crops are the plant-derived branch of natural fibers.
Cotton : A soft seed fiber produced by plants of the genus Gossypium and a major textile raw material. It is the largest example of a fiber crop used for clothing.
Lignocellulosic fiber : Plant structural material composed chiefly of cellulose, hemicellulose, and lignin. Many stem and leaf fibers derive strength from this plant-cell-wall structure.
Atlantic slave trade : The forced transportation of millions of Africans across the Atlantic to labor in the Americas from the sixteenth to nineteenth centuries. Enslaved labor powered cotton production across much of the plantation South.
Synthetic fiber : A manufactured fiber made from chemically produced polymers rather than harvested biological material. It competes with crop-derived fibers in clothing, furnishings, and industrial materials.
Bast fiber : A plant fiber taken from the phloem or inner bark of a stem. Flax, hemp, and jute yield fibers from stem tissues.
Flax : A crop whose stem yields linen fiber and whose seeds yield linseed oil. Its bast fiber supports linen production, while the same crop has food and industrial uses.
Fiber flax : Flax cultivated and managed specifically for long bast fibers rather than primarily for seed. Its production emphasizes straight stems and fiber quality.
Industrial Revolution : A period of rapid industrialization beginning in Britain in the eighteenth century and spreading elsewhere. Mechanized textile production expanded demand for fiber crops, especially cotton.
Regenerated fiber : A manufactured fiber made by dissolving and reforming natural polymers, commonly cellulose. It uses plant-derived feedstocks but is not harvested as a finished crop fiber.
Show all 28