raffia

• POS: Noun
• HYPHEN: raf=fi=a

CIDE DICTIONARY

raffia, n. 

 A fibrous material used for tying plants, said to come from the leaves of a palm tree of the genus Raphia.  J. Smith (Dict. Econ. Plants).  [1913 Webster]

OXFORD DICTIONARY

raffia, n. (also raphia)
1 a palm-tree, Raphia ruffia, native to Madagascar, having very long leaves.
2 the fibre from its leaves used for making hats, baskets, etc., and for tying plants etc.

Etymology

Malagasy