Piassava
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The Piassava ( Piassave, Para grass, Monkey grass ) is a strong, extremely durable plant fiber that is brought to Europe from Brazil and Venezuela and comes from the rope palm, Attalea funifera (Mart.). The piassava consists of the tough fibers of the leaf sheaths, which, after the destruction of the remaining tissue parts of these structures by the atmosphere, hang freely on the trunks of the palm mentioned. These fibers are elastic, dull, dark brown, almost always flattened, up to a meter long, rarely over and 0.8–2.5 mm thick. In the countries of origin, mats, ropes and ropes are made from the Piassava. The fiber first came to England as packaging material around 1845 and was initially considered unusable. 40 years later the fiber was processed in large quantities into almost indestructible street brooms (piassava brooms), street sweepers, coarse brushes, etc. The fiber was mainly shipped from Bahia . Around 1884 2,000 tons were imported annually, of which about 50 tons came to Germany and cost 15 to 18 gold marks per hundredweight.
literature
- Piassava . In: Merck's Warenlexikon . 3rd ed. 1884 ff., P. 428 f.
- About traditional uses of piassava and piassava roofs