Esparto

Stipa tenacissima, commonly known as esparto or halfah grass, is a tough tussock-forming perennial grass in the family Poaceae native to the western Mediterranean basin, particularly Spain, Portugal and North Africa, where it dominates vast areas of semi-arid steppe. The plant forms dense clumps 0.5 to 1.2 meters tall, with cylindrical inrolled leaf blades that are tough, fibrous and gray-green, well adapted to long dry summers. Erect flowering culms rise above the foliage in late spring and early summer bearing narrow panicles of straw-colored spikelets, each with a long twisted feathery awn that aids wind dispersal. The deep fibrous root system stabilizes dry stony soils. Esparto has been used since antiquity as a source of strong tough fiber for ropes, cordage, baskets, mats, sandals and especially fine paper, and large areas of the western Mediterranean are still harvested for the international esparto trade.