vegetable silk

American  

noun

1. a fine, glossy fiber, similar to silk cotton, from the seeds of a spiny Brazilian tree, Chorisia speciosa.

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vegetable silk British  

noun

1. any of various silky fibres obtained from the seed pods of certain plants See also kapok

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Etymology

Origin of vegetable silk

First recorded in 1850–55

Example Sentences

This and other species yield various important products, the chief being the fibre obtained by maceration from the leaves and roots, and known commercially as American aloe, pita flax, or vegetable silk.

From Project Gutenberg

The third is the cheese-tree, called baga by the natives, from the capsules of which a fine and brilliant vegetable silk is yielded.

From Project Gutenberg

It was composed of a variety of fibres closely interwoven with some kind of vegetable silk, and was lined principally with horsehair and very fine fibres.

From Project Gutenberg

This vegetable silk is contained in a soft pod or bladder about the size of an orange.

From Project Gutenberg