What is "bowstring hemp"

Bowstring \Bow"string`\, n.

1. The string of a bow.

2. A string used by the Turks for strangling offenders.

   Bowstring bridge, a bridge formed of an arch of timber or iron, often braced, the thrust of which is resisted by a tie forming a chord of the arch.

   Bowstring girder, an arched beam strengthened by a tie connecting its two ends.

   Bowstring hemp (Bot.), the tenacious fiber of the Sanseviera Zeylanica, growing in India and Africa, from which bowstrings are made.
   --Balfour.

Hemp \Hemp\ (h[e^]mp), n. [OE. hemp, AS. henep, h[ae]nep; akin to D. hennep, OHG. hanaf, G. hanf, Icel. hampr, Dan. hamp, Sw. hampa, L. cannabis, cannabum, Gr. ka`nnabis, ka`nnabos; cf. Russ. konoplia, Skr. [,c]a[.n]a; all prob. borrowed from some other language at an early time. Cf. Cannabine, Canvas.]

1. (Bot.) A plant of the genus Cannabis ( Cannabis sativa), the fibrous skin or bark of which is used for making cloth and cordage. The name is also applied to various other plants yielding fiber.

2. The fiber of the skin or rind of the plant, prepared for spinning. The name has also been extended to various fibers resembling the true hemp.

   African hemp, Bowstring hemp. See under African, and Bowstring.

   Bastard hemp, the Asiatic herb Datisca cannabina.

   Canada hemp, a species of dogbane ( Apocynum cannabinum), the fiber of which was used by the Indians.

   Hemp agrimony, a coarse, composite herb of Europe ( Eupatorium cannabinum), much like the American boneset.

   Hemp nettle, a plant of the genus Galeopsis ( Galeopsis Tetrahit), belonging to the Mint family.

   Indian hemp. See under Indian, a.

   Manila hemp, the fiber of Musa textilis.

   Sisal hemp, the fiber of Agave sisalana, of Mexico and Yucatan.

   Sunn hemp, a fiber obtained from a leguminous plant ( Crotalaria juncea).

   Water hemp, an annual American weed ( Acnida cannabina), related to the amaranth.

1. n. hemp obtained from the sansevieria

2. strong fiber that resembles hemp; obtained from sansevieria and used for e.g. cordage

3. grown as a houseplant for its mottled fleshy sword-shaped leaves or as a source of fiber [syn: sansevieria]