kenafn.

1891 Bull. Misc. Information (Royal Gardens, Kew) 204 Recently an announcement has been made of the discovery of a new textile plant on the shores of the Caspian. The plant known as Kanaff by the natives is said to yield a soft elastic and silky fibre... It is supposed that Kanaff fibre.. will successfully compete with any other textile for sacking, ropes, and packthread.

1945 Bot. Gaz. 106 349/1 The identity of the plant [introduced into Cuba] has been established as kenaf (Hibiscus cannabinus, L.) which..is capable of producing more than a ton of dry fiber per acre.

1952 A. E. Haarer Jute Substitute Fibres i. 2 Kenaf is the name used principally in Russia, America and Cuba..and the word is derived from the local names Kanaff, Kanap or Kanaph, given to the plant where it grows on the Persian shore of the Caspian sea.

1952 A. E. Haarer Jute Substitute Fibres i. 8 No one seems to know why this fibre plant was given the name Kenaf in the Western Hemisphere.

1967 New Scientist 14 Dec. 660/1 The kenaf plant which is already a leading substitute for jute fibres..is now being seriously considered..as a substitute for the hardwoods used in papermaking.

1974 Times 12 Jan. (Ghana Suppl.) p. iv Achievements [in the production of raw materials] were sparse except in some agricultural sectors like cotton and kenaf.