[kuh-naf] 
| 1. | a tropical plant, Hibiscus cannabinus, of the mallow family, yielding a fiber resembling jute. |
| 2. | the fiber itself, used for cordage and textiles. |
kenaf
(species Hibiscus cannabinus), fast-growing plant of the hibiscus, or mallow, family (Malvaceae) and its fibre, one of the bast fibre group. It is used mainly as a jute substitute. The plant grows wild in Africa, where the fibre is sometimes known as Guinea hemp, and has been cultivated on the Indian subcontinent, where it is usually known as mesta, or ambari, since prehistoric times.
Learn more about kenaf with a free trial on Britannica.com.
