when the plants are a few inches hi

when the plants are a few inches high, the weeds must be pulled by hand with extreme care to avoid injury to the delicate sprouts. in three months, the plants become straight, slender stalks from 2 to 4 feet in height, with tapering leaves and small blue, purple, or white flowers. the plant with the blue flower yields the finer fiber. the others produce a coarse but strong fiber (see figure 14-1)