karatasn.
/kəˈreɪtəs/ A West Indian and South American plant ( Bromelia Karatas), allied to the pine-apple, and yielding a valuable fibre; silk-grass.
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the world > plants > particular plants > cultivated or valued plants > yielding fibre, thatching, or basket material > [noun] > grasses > silk-grass
silk grass1620
karatas1728
1728 E. Chambers Cycl. Karata, a kind of Aloes growing in America.
1768 P. Miller Gardeners Dict. Karatas, the wild Ananas or Penguin... This plant is very common in the West Indies, where the juice of its fruit is often put into punch, being of a sharp acid flavour.
1848 in J. Craig New Universal Dict. ; also in later dicts.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1901; most recently modified version published online December 2020).
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n.1728