raffia (redirected from raffia palm)

raffia (răf`ēə) or raphia (rā`fēə), fiber obtained from the raffia palm of Madagascar, exported for various uses, such as tying up plants that require support, binding together vegetables to be marketed, and weaving baskets, hats, and mats. It is also made into a native cloth that is exported as rabanna. The raffia palm (Raphia farinifera or R. ruffia) is crowned with enormous leaves that may be as much as 65 ft (19.8 m) long and composed of 80 to 100 leaflets. The fiber, which is soft, pliable, strong, and nonshrinking when wet, is torn in thin strips from these leaves. After being dried in the sun, raffia takes on a yellowish-tan hue, but it is often dyed other colors.

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raffia, raphia

1. a palm tree, Raphia ruffia, native to Madagascar, that has large plumelike leaves, the stalks of which yield a useful fibre

2. the fibre obtained from this plant, used for tying, weaving, etc.

3. any of several related palms or the fibre obtained from them