Redecker 2019

9 BÜRSTENHAUS REDECKER The name ‘RICE STRAW‘ is somewhat misleading, as the plant fromwhich it is obtained has nothing to do with rice. ‘Rice straw’ comes from sorghum, a type of cereal which is native to an area from the sub-tropics to the Balkans. Sorghum straw for the manufacture of ‘rice straw’, or more correctly, sorghum brooms obtained from the upper part of the entire plant, inclu- ding the panicle. In Germany, the ‘rice straw broom’ became known in the 1960s thanks to guest workers who emigrated from the Balkan countries. In just the same way as rice straw, the name ‘RICE ROOT’ is in- correct for this particular fibre, as the material for rice root bru- shes does not come from a rice plant, but instead from a grass type called zatacon, which grows as a wild plant in the Mexican highlands. The incorrect name probably derives from the Spa- nish word ‘raiz’, which means ‘root’. In fact the extremely tough plant fibre comes from the finely corrugated roots of this plant, and is used for very hard scouring brushes.