Ramie

Ramie is a perennial herbaceous plant 1–2.5 m tall, growing as erect clumps from a rhizome; the stems are round and little-branched. The leaves are alternate, heart-shaped to ovate, 7–15 cm long, toothed, dark green above and covered with silvery-white hairs beneath — the feature that gives the species its name (nivea, snow-white). The small green unisexual flowers are borne in axillary clusters. A planted crop is harvested two to four times a year; the chromosome number is 2n = 28.

Updated by lebachungtdh@gmail.com · 10/09/2026

According to Kew POWO, Boehmeria nivea is native to East and South-East Asia and was domesticated for fibre more than 6,000 years ago in China — one of the oldest natural fibres. Today ramie is grown mainly in China (which produces most of the world crop), Brazil, the Philippines, India and some South-East Asian countries. In Vietnam ramie was once an important fibre crop in the northern midland and mountainous areas, but its area has greatly declined.

Updated by lebachungtdh@gmail.com · 10/09/2026

Ramie fibre is a bast (phloem) fibre taken from the stem bark; it consists mainly of cellulose (usually over 70%) together with hemicellulose, pectin, gums and a little lignin. Pectin and gums glue the fibre bundles together, so the stems must be soaked, boiled and decorticated (peeled and combed) to obtain clean fibre. Ramie is outstanding for high tensile strength, low elongation, natural lustre and resistance to fungi, rot and insects. The leaves contain flavonoids, chlorogenic acid, tannins and small amounts of other compounds; the rhizome contains compounds used in traditional medicine.

Updated by lebachungtdh@gmail.com · 10/09/2026

Ramie is an ancient fibre crop: its strong, lustrous, moisture-absorbing fibre is woven into premium ramie fabric and household textiles, or blended with cotton and polyester. The fibre is also used for sewing thread, cordage, nets and load-bearing ropes; because of its high wet strength and low stretch, ramie is used in geotextiles and fine papers (cigarette and technical papers, historically banknote paper). In some places the young leaves are used as livestock feed or a vegetable; in East Asian traditional medicine the root and leaves of ramie are used to prevent miscarriage, as a diuretic and to stop bleeding.

Updated by lebachungtdh@gmail.com · 10/09/2026

Ramie has not been assessed globally on the IUCN Red List (NE) and is not threatened because it is a long-lived crop propagated deliberately. As for safety, ramie fibre is safe to wear; however, manually peeling and combing the fibre can raise dust and cause skin allergy, so protective equipment is advisable. Ramie leaves are eaten as food in some places but should be cooked; do not use the root or leaves as a self-prescribed medicine without guidance, especially during pregnancy. When planting, note that the plant spreads by rhizome and can form large clumps.

Updated by lebachungtdh@gmail.com · 10/09/2026