BIOB38H3 Lecture Notes - Lecture 10: Bast Fibre, Linaceae, Linum
Document Summary
Soft, stem, or bast fibers - fibers found outside xylem: cortex, phloem + periderm (inner bark) May be used as fiber for spinning to make threads. Very long cells that are separated with middle lamella. Lignified (in secondary cell walls) strong and durable. Freed from soft tissues by retting rotting away of soft tissue cells by microbial action to leave the tough fiber strands intact and free: left with strong cellulose, pectin, or lignin (they are all very strong) The word usitatissiumum is latin for most useful . Hunter-gatherers used flax to make tools like baskets, they were spun in to threads, and even dyed different colours (30 thousand years ago) Replaced as the most used fiber by cotton in the 19th century because of costs and means for production (as industrialization began) Used in egyptian linen and priests, royalty, mummy cloth, and sails on boat. The flax seeds are very healthy to eat.
