Bast fibre (also called
phloem fibre or
skin fibre) is
plant fibre collected from the
phloem (the "inner bark", sometimes called "skin") or
bast surrounding the stem of certain
dicotyledonous plants. They support the conductive cells of the phloem and provide strength to the stem. Most of the economically important bast fibres are obtained from herbs cultivated in agriculture, as for instance
flax,
hemp, or
ramie, but also bast fibres from wild plants, as
stinging nettle, and trees such as
lime or linden,
wisteria, and
mulberry have been used in the past. Bast fibres are classified as soft fibres, and are flexible. Fibres from
monocotyledonous plants, called "leaf fibre", are classified as hard fibres and are stiff.