The World of Plants

Plants as Food

What do you think is a common feature of all the items given in the picture?
Yes, they all are made from fibre. But what is fibre?

Fibres are long filamentous-like structures that can be rolled together to form threads. They can be obtained from a wide variety of natural and artificial sources.
The fibres obtained from plants and animals are called natural fibres. Examples of natural fibres are cotton, jute, wool and silk. Fibres obtained from plants are called plant fibres.
On the other hand, fibres made artificially, using chemicals, are known as synthetic fibres. Rayon, nylon, acrylic, and polyester are examples of artificial fibres.
 

Item	Plant from which it is made or obtained
Cotton clothes	Cotton plant
Gunny bags	Jute, hemp plant fibre
Bioplastics (biodegradable plastics)	Hemp plant fibre, corn starch
Paper	Pulpwood trees, cotton, rice, etc.

Can you list some other items obtained from plant fibres?
Plant fibres are further classified on the basis of their sources—i.e., the plant parts from which they are obtained (stem, leaf and external fibres).
Stem fibres (Bast fibres): Fibres obtained from the stem of plants, such as jute and hemp, are called stem/bast fibres.
Leaf fibres: Fibres obtained from the leaves of plants, such as aloe vera and pineapple, are called leaf fibres.


External fibres: External fibres are obtained from the outer re…