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Fibers and Plant Cells

© Narayan Dattatray Wadadekar

A wide range of cells in animals and plants produce fibers. Fibers are long, thin, flexible, tenacious strands of various different materials. They are found both in animal bodies and in plant bodies. The natural fibers are better for most applications than synthetic ones as they are a renewable and biodegradable resource. Some of the important natural fibers that plants give are classified as surface fibers, soft fibers and hard fibers. Example of surface fibers are cotton, those of soft fibers are flax, jute, hemp, and ramie (pronounced ray-me), and of hard fibers are coir and sisal.

The natural fibers serve many useful functions. Cotton is a favorite all over the world, for making cloth as it "breathes" and is cool and absorbent. Man has processed cotton fibers to make varieties of cloth like muslin, flannel, organdy, poplin, sateen, calico, gabardine and sailcloth. For the cotton plant, its fibers are a cushioning and seed dispersal material.

In plants, fiber making cells are long, narrow, and tapering at both ends. The tissue type they belong to is called sclerenchyma. The cells while alive secrete the material forming fiber and die as they attain maturity. Such cells generally occur in groups or bundles. Fibers are in bundles or sheets and one can easily appreciate that single fibers would hardly be of any use to the plant.

Cotton fibers arise from the seed coat and can be long lint fibers or short fuzz fibers. The silky, white, lustrous ramie fibers are light in weight and are bacteria and mold resistant. They are found in the bark of the stalk. Flax has very long, high quality strong fibers of variable length that are ideal for papermaking and come from stem of the plant.

Jute a glossy fiber, used for sacking, upholstery, furnishing, garments and bag making purposes is a fiber produced in phloem the nutrient conducting tissues of the vascular bundles of plants.

Hemp fibers obtained from stem of the Cannbinus sativa plant do not contain any narcotic addictive chemicals that give a "high". Marijuana, the euphoriant and hallucinogen comes from the dried flowers and leaves of the Cannabis Sativa plant. Coir is the stiff, coarse, water-proof, brown-colored fiber from the outer husk of a coconut palm tree (Cocos nucifera). The fibers are long, narrow and hollow and are used for making brushes, doormats, mattresses and sacks.

The animal cells too produce fibers but that we shall consider later.

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