It's a very similar
plant to the palm tree, with no trunk, and with long and straight
petioles (small stalks attaching the leaf blade to the stem) that
grows directly from the ground. Each petiole has on its tip the
leaf's blade, which is divided into many parts like an open hand.
It's one of the best known and most widely used plants for extracting
fibres for weaving.
Under normal conditions, the iraca is a species that is native to
the insides of the forest where it grows in the shade, usually in
humid locations.
It's young leaves, still white in colour, are used to create hats
"jipijapas" or "sauzas", also known as "Panama
hats".
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