Manila hemp
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
For the plant the fiber is from, see
Abacá.
The packaging of manila hemp (
Musa textilis) into bales at Kali Telepak, Besoeki, East Java.
Manila hemp, also known as
manilla, is a type of
fibre obtained from the leaves of the
abacá (
Musa textilis), a relative of the
banana. It is mostly used for pulping for a range of uses, including speciality papers. It was once used mainly to make
manila rope,
[1] but this is now of minor importance.
manila envelopes and
manila paper take their name from this fibre.
[2][3]
It is not actually
hemp, but named so because hemp was long a major source of fibre, and other fibres were sometimes named after it. The name refers to the
capital of the
Philippines, one of the main producers of abacá.
[2][3]
