straw, dried stalks of threshed grains, especially wheat, barley, oats, and rye. It has been used from antiquity for bedding, covering floors, and thatching roofs, as fodder and litter for animals, and in weaving such articles as mats, screens, baskets, ornaments and hangings, hats, sandals, fans, and armor. Straw hats are woven in one piece or made from braids sewn together. Braids have been made in Europe from medieval times and probably originated in Tuscany, Italy. They are usually made from straw selected for color, length, and lightness and are grown under special conditions of soil and climate. Fine braids, such as leghorn, are commonly of wheat stalks, often cut before they are fully ripe. Hats made of other fibers, such as the leaf fiber of the screw pine used for Panama hats, are also known as straw hats. Straw was once widely used as a packing material and in the manufacture of strawboard (a cheap cardboard) and, in combination with less brittle materials, of paper. See hay.

Stalks of grasses, particularly cereal grasses such as wheat, oats, rye, barley, and buckwheat. Used collectively, the term means stalks aggregated into bales or piles after the drying and threshing of grain. Since ancient times, humans have used straw as litter and fodder for cattle, as a covering for floors, for coarse bedding, and even as clothing. It can also be woven into baskets, hats, floor mats, and furniture coverings. Thatched roofs consist of straw laid down approximately 1 ft (30 cm) thick and secured by strong cords, with the fibers running in the direction to be taken by rainwater. Chemically pulped straw is used in the manufacture of coarse paper and strawboard, a cardboard for cheap paper boxes.

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