Kenaf is a tall-growing cousin of both cotton and okra used for centuries overseas to produce paper, ropes, and other products.

In a recently published book, Mississippi State scientists provide a detailed look at its potential as the South's newest fiber crop.

Kenaf Properties, Processing and Products is co-edited by professors Terry Sellers Jr. and Nancy Reichert. Published by the university's Mississippi Agricultural and Forestry Experiment Station, the 535-page text covers all aspects of a crop that is ancient in Africa and Asia, but introduced to the United States in the 1930s as a substitute for hemp and jute.

Textiles, pulp and paper, animal bedding, potting media, and oil absorption and related products used to clean the environment are among derivatives possible from kenaf's woody outer stalk and pulp-like core.