Esparto

Esparto

Taxobox
name = Esparto Grass



image_width = 240px
regnum = Plantae
divisio = Magnoliophyta
classis = Liliopsida
ordo = Poales
familia = Poaceae
tribe = Stipeae
genus = "Macrochloa" or "Stipa"
species = "M. tenacissima"
binomial = "Macrochloa tenacissima"
binomial_authority = (L.) Kunth.
synonyms = "Stipa tenacissima"

Esparto, or esparto grass, also known as "halfah grass" or "needle grass", "Macrochloa tenacissima" and "Stipa tenacissima", is a perennial grass grown in northwest Africa and southern Spain employed for crafts (cords, baskets, espadrilles, ...).

Esparto paper

It is also used for fiber production for paper making. The fiber makes a high quality paper often used in book manufacturing. First used in Great Britain in 1850, it has been extensively used there and in Europe, but is rarely found in the United States because of the cost of transport. It is usually combined with five to ten percent wood pulp.

The "Spanish" grade is usually regarded as the higher-quality, while the "Tripoli" grade, from Africa, is the lesser in quality. The fibers are fairly short in relation to their length , yet do not create any significant amount of dust. Because of the short fiber length, the tensile strength of the paper is less than that of many other papers, but its resistance to shrinkage and stretching is superior, and the paper is a well-filled, dense paper with excellent inking qualities. It also has very good folding properties.

"Lygeum spartum", a broadleaf perennial in the family "Gramineae", is also used in combination, and is also sometimes called esparto grass or albardine.

Some manufacturers of rolling paper may use esparto, which might lead to a slightly higher carcinogen level when burned [http://www.amat.es/convenio/circulares/2003/DICIEMBRE/CIRCULAR%20N%C2%BA%20114-03/Circular%20n%C2%BA%20114-03.pdf Ref] .

Related terms

*Espartinas, a town in the province of Seville, Spain
*The famlly name Espartero means "esparto worker or seller".
*Atocha is another Spanish word for "esparto".

External links

* [http://www.museoespartocieza.com/ Esparto Museum] es
* [http://www.esparte.es/ Esparto en artesanía tradicional fina] es


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  • Esparto — Saltar a navegación, búsqueda Esparto es el nombre con el que se conoce en España a unas fibras obtenidas de diversas plantas silvestres del grupo de las gramíneas, así como a las plantas mismas. Para lo referente a la fibra y su aprovechamiento …   Wikipedia Español

  • esparto — (Del lat. spartum, y este del gr. σπάρτον). 1. m. Planta de la familia de las Gramíneas, con las cañas de unos 7 dm de altura, hojas radicales de unos 60 cm de longitud, tan arrolladas sobre sí y a lo largo que aparecen como filiformes, duras y… …   Diccionario de la lengua española

  • Esparto — bezeichnet: einen Ort in Kalifornien, siehe Esparto (Kalifornien) Esparto ist die Bezeichnung für zwei Grasarten: Halfagras (Stipa tenacissima) Espartogras (Lygeum spartum) Die …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Esparto — Esparto, CA U.S. Census Designated Place in California Population (2000): 1858 Housing Units (2000): 612 Land area (2000): 0.825046 sq. miles (2.136860 sq. km) Water area (2000): 0.000000 sq. miles (0.000000 sq. km) Total area (2000): 0.825046 sq …   StarDict's U.S. Gazetteer Places

  • Esparto, CA — U.S. Census Designated Place in California Population (2000): 1858 Housing Units (2000): 612 Land area (2000): 0.825046 sq. miles (2.136860 sq. km) Water area (2000): 0.000000 sq. miles (0.000000 sq. km) Total area (2000): 0.825046 sq. miles… …   StarDict's U.S. Gazetteer Places

  • esparto — sustantivo masculino 1. Lygeum spartum: Planta gramínea de hojas muy largas, delgadas y duras que están enrolladas, flores agrupadas en espigas y semillas muy pequeñas: El esparto crece espontáneamente en el centro y sur de España, y en las zonas …   Diccionario Salamanca de la Lengua Española

  • esparto — [es pär′tō] n. [Sp < L spartum < Gr sparton, spartos < IE base * sper , to turn > SPIRAL] either of two kinds of long, coarse grass (Stipa tenacissima or Lygeum spartum) growing in Spain and N Africa, used to make cordage, baskets,… …   English World dictionary

  • Esparto — Es*par to, n. [Sp.; cf. L. spartum Spanish broom, Gr. ?.] (Bot.) A species of Spanish grass ({Macrochloa tenacissima}), of which cordage, shoes, baskets, etc., are made. It is also used for making paper. [1913 Webster] || …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Esparto — (Espartogras), in den spanischen Gebirgen, auch in Südfrankreich, Sicilien, Südasien u. auf Corsica wild wachsende Pflanze (Stipa tenacissima, Zähes Pfriemengras, Spanischer Ginster), welche roh verarbeitet u. am meisten von Alicante ausgeführt… …   Pierer's Universal-Lexikon

  • Esparto — (Espartogras, Sparto, Atocha, in Algerien und Tunis Halfa, Alfa), die Blätter der in Spanien und Nordafrika (hauptsächlich Algier, Tunis, Tripolis) in großer Menge wachsenden Stipa (Macrochloa) tenacissima Kunth, sind grünlich, nach längerm… …   Meyers Großes Konversations-Lexikon

  • Esparto — (Stipa oder Macrochlōa tenacissĭma L. [Abb. 527]), ein bes. in Spanien und Algerien wildwachsendes Gras, dessen zähe, biegsame Blätter (Sparto oder Pfriemengras, arab. Alfa oder Halfa) zu Flechtwerk, bes. aber zur Papierfabrikation verwendet… …   Kleines Konversations-Lexikon

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