Fiber

Fiber is another large category, as cultures throughout the world and history have made use of local plants and animals to make fiber. There are the two broad categories of plant and animal fiber. Animal fiber comes almost exclusively from animal fur. Plant fiber generally comes from three different sources: bast fiber (a fiber that adds rigidity to plant stems), leaf fiber (tough fibers that stiffen long, blade-like leaves), and seed fluff (very fine fibers that help with seed dispersal).

Animal fiber

• Alpaca
• Angora wool (Rabbit)
• Camel hair (Bactrian camel, Dromedary)
• Cashmere wool (Goat)
• Llama
• Mohair (Goat)
• Silk (Ailanthus silkmoth, Silkmoth, Tussar moth)
• Wool (Sheep)
• Yak

Plant fiber

• Bast fiber (“soft fiber”):
• Baobab tree
• Birch tree
• Dogbane
• Hemp (Hemp plant)
• Jute (Corchorus)
• Linden tree
• Linen (Flax)
• New Zealand flax
• Okra
• Ramie
• Sunn hemp
• Upas tree

• Leaf fiber (“hard fiber”):
• Abaca
• Agave
• Babassu palm
• Betel palm
• Carnauba palm
• Date palm
• Esparto grass
• Henequen
• Khuskus
• Panama hat palm
• Pandan
• Pawpaw
• Peach palm
• Pineapple
• Raffia palm
• Sisal
• Yucca

• Seed fluff:
• Cotton
• Kapok
• Milkweed

• Other:
• Coir (Coconut tree)