''Girardinia diversifolia'', commonly known as the Himalayan nettle or Nilghiri nettle, is a plant species native to Nepal and in the Himalayan parts of India such as

Uttarakhand Uttarakhand (, ), also known as Uttaranchal ( ; List of renamed places in India, the official name until 2007), is a States and union territories of India, state in North India, northern India. The state is bordered by Himachal Pradesh to the n ...

Himachal Pradesh Himachal Pradesh (; Sanskrit: ''himācāl prādes;'' "Snow-laden Mountain Province") is a States and union territories of India, state in the northern part of India. Situated in the Western Himalayas, it is one of the thirteen Indian Himalayan ...

and

Jammu and Kashmir Jammu and Kashmir may refer to: * Jammu and Kashmir (union territory), a region administered by India as a union territory since 2019 * Jammu and Kashmir (state), a region administered by India as a state from 1952 to 2019 * Jammu and Kashmir (prin ...

and in vast parts of China. It grows naturally at elevations between . It is a shade tolerant, tall, stout and erect herb growing up to 3m height with perennial rootstock. The plant grows as a clump, and each clump has many stems. The stem contains

bast fiber 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. Some of the economically important bast fibr ...

of unique quality which is strong, smooth and light.Assessment of Allo Production and Enterprise Potential in Parbat District
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Description

It is a 1.5 to 3 metres tall perennial herbaceous shrub that grows without cultivation all over Nepal. It most frequently occurs in the hilly and mountainous regions at altitudes up to 3000 m.

Uses

Traditional users of Allo are ethnic groups from across Nepal, including the

Kulung Kulung may refer to: * Kulung people, an ethnic group of Nepal * Kulung language (Nepal) Kulung (autonym: ''Kulu riŋ'', ulu rɪŋ is one of the Kiranti languages. It is spoken by an estimated 33,000 people. Van Driem (2001) includes Chukwa as ...

Gurung Gurung (exonym; ) or Tamu (endonym; Gurung language, Gurung: ) are a Tibetan people, Tibetan ethnic group living in the hills and mountains of Gandaki Province of Nepal. Gurungs speak Tamu kyi which is a Sino-Tibetan language derived from the ...

, Magar,

Rai (), commercially styled as since 2000 and known until 1954 as (RAI), is the national public broadcasting company of Italy, owned by the Ministry of Economy and Finance. RAI operates many terrestrial and subscription television channels a ...

and Tamang people. Allo products are culturally important to both the

and the

. It is also sold for commercial and non-religious purposes. Non-fibre uses of the plant range from fodder and fuel wood, to use as a live fence and in traditional medicines. Allo fibre is very flexible and has high tenacity, allowing it to be used in a multitude of applications ranging from clothing and bags to floor mats and rope. Fibres made from allo are fully biodegradable.

Gallery

Girardinia diversifolia (8071156699).jpg Girardinia diversifolia 10.JPG Girardinia diversifolia 2.jpg Girardinia diversifolia (9967938745).jpg, Inflorescence Girardinia diversifolia 02.JPG, Fruits Girardinia diversifolia (1658321496).jpg Girardinia diversifolia seedling II, by Omar Hoftun.jpg, Seedling Girardinia diversifolia seeds, by Omar Hoftun.jpg, Seeds

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q130231 Flora of Nepal Urticaceae