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Boehmeria nivea

Common name:	Ramie	Family:	Urticaceae
Author:	(L.)Gaudich.	Botanical references:	109, 200, 266
Synonyms:	Boehmeria tenacissima (Gaud.)
Known Hazards:	Although members of the nettle family, plants in this genus do not have stinging hairs[235].
Range:	E. Asia - China to the Himalayas of Bhutan, Sikkim and Nepal.
Habitat:	Rocky places to 1200 metres[109]. A very common plant in China, growing in thickets, roadsides, edges of forests in mountains at elevations of 200 - 1700 metres[266].
Edibility Rating (1-5):	4	Medicinal Rating (1-5):	2

Other Possible Synonyms:	From various places across the web, may not be correct. See below.
	Ramium niveum[B,P] Urtica nivea[B,G,P]
Other Common Names:	From various places around the Web, may not be correct. See below.
	Ch'U Ma [E], Chinese Grass [P], Chinese-grass [B], Madame Parquet [E], Ortie Blanche [E], Rami [E], Rami-rami [E], Ramie [E], Rhea [H],
Epithets:	From a Dictionary of Botanical Epithets
	nivea = snow white
Systematics:	From a USDA Plants Database
	Order: Urticales. Nettle family
Other Range Info:	From the Ethnobotany Database
	China Dominican Republic Haiti Johore Malaya

Physical Characteristics

Perennial growing to 1.8m by 1m . It is hardy to zone 7 and is frost tender. It is in flower from September to October. The flowers are monoecious (individual flowers are either male or female, but both sexes can be found on the same plant). We rate it 4/5 for edibility and 2/5 for medicinal use.

The plant prefers light (sandy) soils and requires well-drained soil. The plant prefers acid, neutral and basic (alkaline) soils and can grow in very acid soil. It can grow in semi-shade (light woodland) or no shade. It requires dry or moist soil.

Habitats and Possible Locations

Woodland, Cultivated Beds, Sunny Edge, Dappled Shade.

Edible Uses

Root.

Root - peeled and boiled. A pleasant, sweet taste[179]. We can detect very little flavour, but the root has a very strange mucilaginous texture that does not appeal to most people who have tried it[K]. Once in the mouth, it takes a lot of chewing before it is ready to be swallowed[K].

Medicinal Uses

Disclaimer

Antiphlogistic Astringent Demulcent Diuretic Febrifuge Haemostatic Resolvent Vulnerary Women's complaints.

Antiphlogistic, demulcent, diuretic, febrifuge, haemostatic and vulnerary. Used to prevent miscarriages and promote the drainage of pus[147, 178].
The leaves are astringent and resolvent[218, 240]. They are used in the treatment of fluxes and wounds[218].
The root is antiabortifacient, cooling, demulcent, diuretic, resolvent and uterosedative[218].

Other Uses

Fibre Paper.

A fibre is obtained from the inner bark of the stem - of excellent quality, it is used for textiles, linen etc and is said to be moth-proof[1, 46, 57, 61, 74, 171]. Yields are from 375 to 900 kilos of fibre (per acre?)[123]. Two to four harvests per year are possible depending upon the climate, it is harvested as the stems turn brown[123]. Best harvested as the female flowers open according to another report[169]. The outer bark is removed and then the fibrous inner bark is taken off and boiled before being woven into thread[178]. The fibres are the longest known in the plant realm.[61, 171] The tensile strength is 7 times that of silk and 8 times that of cotton, this is improved on wetting the fibre[61]. The fibre is also used for making paper[189]. The leaves are removed from the stems, the stems are steamed and the fibres stripped off. The fibres are cooked for 2 hours with lye, fresh material might require longer cooking, and they are then beaten in a Hollander beater[189] before being made into paper.

Cultivation details

Requires a rich warm sandy soil that is very well drained[1, 57, 123, 200]. Intolerant of wet soils[200]. This is a very greedy plant and can soon impoverish a soil. All plant remains, after the fibre has been removed, should be returned to the soil[123]. Does best in areas with high temperatures and high humidity plus a rainfall of 1100cm evenly distributed throughout the year[123]. Tolerates a pH in the range 4.3 to 7.3.
This species is fairly hardy in Britain when dormant, though it may require some protection in winter (a good mulch to protect the roots should be sufficient). The young growth in spring, even on mature plants, is frost-tender and so it is best to grow the plants in a position sheltered from the early morning sun[K]. The plant has been growing for many years in a sunny well-drained bed at Cambridge Botanical Gardens (which has low humidity and low rainfall), it has made a clump over 2 metres wide though it only reaches about 1.5 metres in height[K].
Boehmeria nivea, an extremely variable species, is widespread over large areas of subtropical and tropical Asia. Its complex species includes several infraspecific taxa, four varieties of which are found in China[266]. The sub-species B. nivea tenacissima. (Gaud.)Miquel., which produces the fibre 'Rhea' is a native of Malaysia and is not hardy in Britain[200].
Rami is much cultivated in China for its fibre[1], with a history of cultivation going back at least 3000 years[266]. It is also occasionally cultivated for its fibre or as an ornamental plant in Europe[50]. A very greedy plant, it requires a lot of feeding if it is to perform well[123].

Propagation

Seed - sow spring in a warm greenhouse and only just cover the seed. When they are large enough to handle, prick the seedlings out into individual pots and grow them on in the greenhouse for at least their first winter. Plant them out into their permanent positions in late spring or early summer, after the last expected frosts.
Division in spring. Very easy, larger divisions can be planted straight into their permanent positions whilst smaller clumps are best potted up and kept in a cold frame until they are growing away well.
Layering.
Basal cuttings in late spring. Harvest the shoots when they are about 10 - 15cm long with plenty of underground stem. Pot them up into individual pots and keep them in light shade in a cold frame or greenhouse until they are rooting well. Grow them on for their first winter in the cold frame and then plant them out in the summer.

Suppliers

For more details of plant suppliers please see our Suppliers Page which lists many more places to look.

PFAF Web Pages

This plant is mentioned in the following web pages

Fiber Plants

Web References

[H] Details of Scandanavian and European Common names in Henriette's names database
[E] Ethnobotany Data (common names, uses, countries) from the Ethnobotany Database.
[B] Data (Latin & Common names, other references) from the BONAP's Synonymized Checklist of the Vascular Flora of the United States, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands.
[C] Taxon data. from the CalFlora database.
[PHARM] Phytochemical Data (common names, uses, countries) from Dr Duke's Phytochemical Database.
[G] Data (Common Names, Uses, Distribution) from the USDA/ARS NPGS's GRIN taxonomic database.
[P] Data. (uses, distribution, wetland) from the USDA'a Plants database.
[HP] Links, Photos, Suppliers from Hortiplex Plant Database

See the PFAF Links Pages for other sources.

Also try Photos and info from the The Plants Database which has 14,000 images.

References

[K] Ken Fern
Notes from observations, tasting etc at Plants For A Future and on field trips.

[1] F. Chittendon. RHS Dictionary of Plants plus Supplement. 1956 Oxford University Press 1951
Comprehensive listing of species and how to grow them. Somewhat outdated, it has been replaces in 1992 by a new dictionary (see [200]).

[46] Uphof. J. C. Th. Dictionary of Economic Plants. Weinheim 1959
An excellent and very comprehensive guide but it only gives very short descriptions of the uses without any details of how to utilize the plants. Not for the casual reader.

[50] ? Flora Europaea Cambridge University Press 1964
An immense work in 6 volumes (including the index). The standard reference flora for europe, it is very terse though and with very little extra information. Not for the casual reader.

[57] Schery. R. W. Plants for Man.
Fairly readable but not very comprehensive. Deals with plants from around the world.

[61] Usher. G. A Dictionary of Plants Used by Man. Constable 1974 ISBN 0094579202
Forget the sexist title, this is one of the best books on the subject. Lists a very extensive range of useful plants from around the world with very brief details of the uses. Not for the casual reader.

[74] Komarov. V. L. Flora of the USSR. Israel Program for Scientific Translation 1968
An immense (25 or more large volumes) and not yet completed translation of the Russian flora. Full of information on plant uses and habitats but heavy going for casual readers.

[109] Wilson. E. H. Plantae Wilsonae.
Details of the palnts collected by the plant collector E. H. Wilson on his travels in China. Gives some habitats. Not for the casual reader.

[123] ? Encyclopaedia Britannica. 15th edition.
It contains a few things of interest to the plant project.

[147] ? A Barefoot Doctors Manual. Running Press ISBN 0-914294-92-X
A very readable herbal from China, combining some modern methods with traditional chinese methods.

[169] Buchanan. R. A Weavers Garden.
Covers all aspects of growing your own clothes, from fibre plants to dyes.

[171] Hill. A. F. Economic Botany. The Maple Press 1952
Not very comprehensive, but it is quite readable and goes into some a bit of detail about the plants it does cover.

[178] Stuart. Rev. G. A. Chinese Materia Medica. Taipei. Southern Materials Centre
A translation of an ancient Chinese herbal. Fascinating.

[179] Reid. B. E. Famine Foods of the Chiu-Huang Pen-ts'ao. Taipei. Southern Materials Centre 1977
A translation of an ancient Chinese book on edible wild foods. Fascinating.

[189] Bell. L. A. Plant Fibres for Papermaking. Liliaceae Press 1988
A good practical section on how to make paper on a small scale plus details of about 75 species (quite a few of them tropical) that can be used.

[200] Huxley. A. The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992. MacMillan Press 1992 ISBN 0-333-47494-5
Excellent and very comprehensive, though it contains a number of silly mistakes. Readable yet also very detailed.

[218] Duke. J. A. and Ayensu. E. S. Medicinal Plants of China Reference Publications, Inc. 1985 ISBN 0-917256-20-4
Details of over 1,200 medicinal plants of China and brief details of their uses. Often includes an analysis, or at least a list of constituents. Heavy going if you are not into the subject.

[235] Britton. N. L. Brown. A. An Illustrated Flora of the Northern United States and Canada Dover Publications. New York. 1970 ISBN 0-486-22642-5
Reprint of a 1913 Flora, but still a very useful book.

[240] Chopra. R. N., Nayar. S. L. and Chopra. I. C. Glossary of Indian Medicinal Plants (Including the Supplement). Council of Scientific and Industrial Research, New Delhi. 1986
Very terse details of medicinal uses of plants with a wide range of references and details of research into the plants chemistry. Not for the casual reader.

[266] Flora of China 1994
On-line version of the Flora - an excellent resource giving basic info on habitat and some uses.

Readers Comments

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