Description
A tough, coarse, spiky grass (Stipa tenacissima or Lygeum spartum) native to southern Spain and northern Africa. The best grades are thought to come from Spain (Spanish grass) while less expensive grades come from northern Africa (tripoli). The slender, wiry grass was used for basketry, ropes, and mats since ancient times. The gray-green spear-like leaves of this desert plant produce fine, light fibers that are about one centimeter long. The fibers have a high proportion of alpha cellulose. They produce a high-quality, lightweight paper that is used for writing papers as well as for intaglio color printing. Esparto fibers are used extensively in England and Scotland for the production of paper, but rarely used in the U.S. because wood pulp is plentiful. The presence of esparto in a paper may be determined by the Hertzberg test (iodine-chloride solution - positive stains deep violet) or by boiling the specimen in 1% solution of aniline (positive turns pink) (Roberts and Etherington 1982).
Synonyms and Related Terms
Stipa tenacissima; Lygeum spartum; alfa grass; alpha grass; halfa grass; Spanish grass; esparto fibers; sparto; tripoli; esparto (Esp.); esparto (gras) (Stipa tenacissima)=spartelgras (Ned);
Other Properties
Fibers are about 1 cm in length.
Additional Information
° E.J.LaBarre, Dictionary and Encyclopedia of Paper and Paper-making, Swets & Zeitlinger, Amsterdam, 1969.
° M.Roberts, D.Etherington, Bookbinding and the Conservation of Books: a Dictionary of Descriptive Terminology, U.S. Government Printing Office, Washington, DC, 1982.
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Last updated on: 6/12/2009 12:41:40 PM
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