My Favorite Cordage Making Plants

BEST KNOWN CORDAGE PLANTS

by Tim Swanson

LEAVES

• Yucca*

• Day Lily**

• Cattail

• Iris

• Corn (Husk)

STEM

• Milkweed*

• Dogbane**

• Stinging Nettle*

• Hemp

• Velvet Leaf

• Burdock

• Fireweed

• Flax

• Evening Primrose

• Dandelion

BARK (usually inner bark)

• Basswood**

• Hickory

• Cedar

• Willow

• Juniper

• Cottonwood

• Chestnut*

ROOTS

• Spruce (or most evergreens, use “as is”)**

• Juniper

VINE (dried but unprocessed, used to make baskets or “static” bindings)

• Bittersweet**

• Grape

• Blackberries

*Plants that I have worked with that I particularly enjoy

**My favorite plant from each category