Girardinia diversifolia

Girardinia diversifolia, commonly known as the Himalayan nettle[2] or Nilghiri nettle,[3] is found abundantly in open forest land, river sides, and moist habitat in Nepal and in Himalayan parts of India such as Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh and Jammu and Kashmir and in vast parts of China.[4] It grows naturally at elevations between 1,200 to 3,000 metres (3,900 to 9,800 feet). It is a shade tolerant, tall, stout and erect herb growing up to 3m height with perennial rootstock. The plant grows as a clump, and each clump has many stems. The stem contains bast fiber of unique quality which is strong, smooth and light.[5]

Girardinia diversifolia
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Rosids
Order: Rosales
Family: Urticaceae
Genus: Girardinia
Species:
G. diversifolia
Binomial name
Girardinia diversifolia
(Link) Friis
Synonyms[1]
  • Girardinia adoensis (Steud.) Wedd.
  • Girardinia armata Kunth nom. illeg.
  • Girardinia chingianae S.S.Chien
  • Girardinia condensata (Hochst. ex Steud.) Wedd.
  • Girardinia erosa Decne.
  • Girardinia formosana Hayata ex Yamam.
  • Girardinia furialis Blume
  • Girardinia heterophylla (Vahl) Decne.
  • Girardinia hibiscifolia Miq.
  • Girardinia javanica Wedd.
  • Girardinia leschenaultiana Decne.
  • Girardinia longispica Hand.-Mazz.
  • Girardinia palmata Blume nom. illeg.
  • Girardinia vahlii Blume nom. illeg.
  • Girardinia vitifolia Franch. nom. illeg.
  • Girardinia vitifolia Wedd.
  • Girardinia zeylanica Decne.
  • Urtica adoensis Hochst.
  • Urtica adoensis Hochst. ex Steud.
  • Urtica buraei H. Lév.
  • Urtica condensata Hochst. ex Steud.
  • Urtica diversifolia Link
  • Urtica heterophylla Vahl
  • Urtica lobatifolia S.S. Ying
  • Urtica palmata Forssk.

Allo is a 1.5 to 3 metres tall[6] perennial herbaceous shrub that grows without cultivation all over Nepal.[7] It most frequently occurs in the hilly and mountainous regions at altitudes up to 3000 m.[8]

Vernacular names

The plant is locally known as:

Uses
Himalayan Nettle (Girardinia diversifolia) in Bageshwar

Traditional users of Allo are ethnic groups from across Nepal, including the Kulung, Gurung, Magar, Rai and Tamang people.[9] Allo products are culturally important to both the Gurung[9] and the Rai.[8] It is also sold for commercial and non-religious purposes.[7] Non-fibre uses of the plant range from fodder and fuel wood,[8] to use as a live fence and in traditional medicines.[9] Allo fibre is very flexible and has high tenacity,[10] allowing it to be used in a multitude of applications ranging from clothing and bags to floor mats and rope.[9][11][12] Fibres made from allo are fully biodegradable.[10]

  • Inflorescence
  • Fruits
  • Seeds

References
  1. "The Plant List: A Working List of All Plant Species". Retrieved 14 December 2014.
  2. "Girardinia diversifolia". Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN). Agricultural Research Service (ARS), United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). Retrieved 4 September 2015.
  3. "BSBI List 2007". Botanical Society of Britain and Ireland. Archived from the original (xls) on 2015-01-25. Retrieved 2014-10-17.
  4. |url=
  5. Assessment of Allo Production and Enterprise Potential in Parbat District
  6. Singh, S.C.; Shrestha, R (1988). "Girardinia diversifolia (Urticaceae), a non-conventional fiber resource in nepal". Economic Botany. 42 (3): 445–447. doi:10.1007/BF02860167. JSTOR 4255095.
  7. Dunsmore, J (1998). "Microenterprise development: Traditional skills and the reduction of poverty in highland nepal". Himalaya, the Journal of the Association for Nepal and Himalayan Studies. 18 (2): 22–27.
  8. Barakoti, T; Shrestha, K (2008). "Commercial utilization of allo (Girardinia diversifolia) by the rais of sankhuwasabha for income generation". Banko Janakari. 18 (1): 18–24. doi:10.3126/banko.v18i1.2162.
  9. Gurung, A; Flanigan, H; Kumar Ghimeray, A; Karki, R; Bista, R; Gurung, O.P. (2012). "Traditional knowledge of processing and use of the himalayan giant nettle (Girardinia diversifolia (Link) Friis) among the Gurungs of Sikles, Nepal". Ethnobotany Research and Applications. 10: 167–174. doi:10.17348/era.10.0.167-174.
  10. Bajpai, P.K.; Meena, D; Vatsa, S; Singh, I (2013). "Tensile behavior of nettle fiber composites exposed to various environments". Journal of Natural Fibers. 10 (3): 244–256. doi:10.1080/15440478.2013.791912.
  11. Shrestha, R (1999). "Improvements on the traditional harvesting practice of girardinia diversifolia". Tropical Agriculture Research and Extension. 2 (1): 74–75.
  12. Dunsmore, J (1998). "Crafts, cash and conservation in highland nepal". Community Development Journal. 33 (1): 49–56. doi:10.1093/cdj/33.1.49.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.