What are spinning plants? Spinning crops: examples

2024 Author: Howard Calhoun | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 10:16

On earth there is simply a huge number of plants of various types. Some of them are used by humans in food. Others serve as decoration for dwellings and suburban areas. In this article, we will talk about what spinning plants are. Already by the name you can guess that these are representatives of the flora used to make fabrics.

Main Features

In fact, there are many spinning plants in nature - more than 600 species. However, for the production of clothing, only fibers that are sufficiently thin and delicate are used. And there are not so many such varieties on the planet - about 20.

The main distinguishing feature of all spinning plants is the presence of vegetative and generative organs containing fibers and fat. There are the following three main groups into which spinning crops are divided (a list of plants and their characteristics are given below):

• Bad fiber. In these representatives of the fauna, the fiber is located inside the stem and is a highly elongated cells collectedbundles. This group includes, for example, plants such as flax, kenaf, jute.
• Seed fibrous spinning crops. In this case, the fiber is elongated (20-50 mm) seed cells. This group includes the well-known cotton plant.
• Fiber sheets. In such plants, long cells are found in the leaves (New Zealand flax, textile banana, sisal).

The presence of fibrous cells is the only characteristic by which spinning plants can be grouped together. Otherwise, these are completely different representatives of the flora, belonging to different classes, species and subspecies.

Representatives of the flax family

Next, let's take a look at the characteristics of some of the most famous spinning plants. And let's start with flax. The genus Linum includes more than 200 representatives. However, only one species is cultivated in culture - ordinary flax, which includes five subspecies. In Russia, the Eurasian Dolgunets is grown. It gives the longest and most valuable fibre. Other varieties of dolgunts are cultivated in our country as oil plants.

How is linen made?

So, all spinning crops, examples of which will be given below, are used to make a wide variety of textile items. The same goes for flax. To obtain threads, its stems are soaked in water for a long time - before decomposition begins. The remaining long fibers are woven and put onfabric production. Linen clothing is more pleasant to the touch than cotton, which is common today, and is more durable. However, it is quite difficult to make fabric from such threads, because they break very easily. To date, the largest producer of spinning linen and fabrics from it is Ireland.

Cotton: biological features

Linen is far from the only variety used to obtain fibers for fabric. Cultivated in our country, including other cultivated spinning plants. The most common is cotton. Moreover, today it is the main spinning crop in our country and around the world. Such popularity is explained by the ease of obtaining fiber, its high yield and high yield of the plant itself. This culture belongs to the Malvaceae family. An adult plant can reach a height of more than 180 cm. Fruit branches of raw cotton develop in the upper part of the stem and depart from it at an obtuse angle. Flowers grow on them, which later give the fruits of the "box". The latter are round-ovoid in shape and burst at the seams when ripe. At the same time, cotton becomes visible - long fibers that cover the seeds of the plant.

Harvesting of this crop can be done both manually and mechanized. In the latter case, the leaves are removed from the plants with the help of chemicals.

Hemp

There are otherspopular crop plants spinning. Hemp is one of them. This culture belongs to the family of heterosexual dioecious. Male and female plants differ in the structure of generative organs and flowers. In addition, the latter have a longer growing season.

Like flax and cotton, hemp is grown for fiber and oil. The first is obtained from the stems, the second - from the seeds. The fibers are used to make fabrics for making rough work clothes, weaving ropes, etc. Varnishes and paints are made from hemp oil.

Today, only two spinning crops of this variety are most common. Hemp is used for the production of fabrics and oils. The hash variety is grown in some Asian countries to extract drugs from the leaves.

Collecting hemp for greens begins with the mass flowering of male plants. For women, this process begins somewhat later. The collected stems are sorted by length and thickness and sent for soaking, usually in specially designed open reservoirs. The duration of this procedure is directly dependent on the temperature of the water. In warm soaking lasts about a week, in cold - in autumn - up to two to three weeks.

Like flax, hemp fibers separate very easily after tissue softening. But you can not overdo the stems in the water. Rotting significantly reduces the quality of the resulting material.

Kenaf

There are andlesser known spinning crops. Examples of such varieties are kenaf and jute. The fiber of the former is mainly used to make bags and ropes. In the past, the fibers of this plant, as well as finished products from them, were imported to Russia mainly only from India. At the moment, this crop is quite successfully grown, including in the farms of Uzbekistan. The value of kenaf fabric lies mainly in the fact that it can be used to sew bags, ideal for storing and transporting sugar. Of course, hemp can also be used for this purpose. However, the inconvenience in this case lies primarily in the fact that microscopic particles are separated from the threads of such bags. It is simply impossible to remove them from sugar afterwards. A similar phenomenon is not observed in kenaf bags. The fiber obtained from this plant is not only flexible and durable, but also hygroscopic. Not only bags are sewn from kenaf fabrics. Threads woven from the fibers of this culture are also used to make ropes, ropes, twine and tarpaulin. In a number of countries, paper pulp is also produced from it.

Kenaf, like cotton, belongs to the mallow family. The height of an adult plant can reach 1-5 m, and its roots go into the ground by 2 m. Kenaf harvesting begins after one or two lower boxes with seeds are drilled. Harvesting is done with the help of reaper machines. Beveled stems are left to dry right in the field for several days. Then they are collected and tied into sheaves. Further drying is carried out in special worts. On thethe next stage, the sheaves are threshed. The resulting seeds are cleaned and sorted, and the sheaves are sent to the bast plants.

Jute

This is another plant whose fibers are often used to make bags for sugar, flour and other bulk products. In terms of performance, jute fabric even surpasses kenaf fabric. Sometimes even velvet and furniture fabrics are made from it. Among other things, jute is used to make ropes, twine and ropes. Very often this fiber is used for caulking chopped buildings. Technical oil is obtained from the seeds of this crop. They are also used as a medicine designed to cure heart disease.

Jute is grown mainly in the tropical zone of Asia, that is, in countries such as India, Bangladesh, Nepal and Taiwan. There are also plantations of this crop in Africa and America. Only two varieties of jute differ in industrial value - long-fruited and large-fruited.

The ripeness of a plant occurs when the first seed box appears on it. This plant is harvested for fiber after more than half of the plants enter this phase. The primary processing of the stems is carried out in exactly the same way as in kenaf. These are actually very similar bast-fiber spinning plants. And although they are not as common today as they were in the past, their cultivation certainly seems more than worthwhile.

Chinese nettle

Very interesting and grassy spinningplants. The names of this variety are Chinese nettle and ramie. The main distinguishing feature of the fibers obtained from this plant is that they practically do not rot. In the past, they were commonly used to make quality canvas. Today, ramie fibers are most often used to make very strong ropes that have a long service life. Sew from nettle fabric and clothes. However, in this case, ramie fibers are usually mixed with cotton fibers or wool. At the same time, very strong, well-kept, wear-resistant things are obtained.

The height of adult Chinese nettle plants can reach two meters. Unlike the variety that grows in Russia, its stems do not burn at all. The plant is very unpretentious and is able to produce two crops a year. Currently, this crop is cultivated in countries such as Brazil, Thailand, India, Philippines, South Korea.

Spinning crops: list of plants

So, such representatives of the fauna as flax, jute, cotton, kenaf, nettle belong to spinning. What other known varieties exist? In addition to those described above, this group also includes pineapple, kendyr, manila and many others.

Spinning plants, the list of which is given above, are certainly the most valuable raw material for the production of fabrics. Cotton and linen clothing is currently highly valued as absolutely environmentally friendly. Many areas of the national economy are unlikely to do without ropes, tarpaulins and bags.