Tapa cloth is obtained from the plants of which one of the following family ?

The correct answer is B, Moraceae. Tapa cloth, also called bark cloth, is made by beating the inner bark of trees of this family. The main source is the paper mulberry, Broussonetia papyrifera, and some Ficus species are also used. It is a non-woven cloth made without spinning or weaving, which is why it is common in Polynesia and the Pacific islands.

• A) Asclepiadaceae: This is the milkweed family. Its fibre plants, such as Calotropis (madar), give coarse fibre for ropes, not tapa.
• C) Graminae: This is the grass family, now called Poaceae. It gives bamboo, cereals and sugarcane. Grass fibres such as sabai are used for ropes and mats, not bark cloth.
• D) Malvaceae: This family gives cotton and jute (Corchorus), the major textile fibres. Tapa is a bark product, so this option is wrong.

The core concept is the difference between bast or bark fibres, seed fibres and stem or leaf fibres, and the traditional non-loom textiles of the world. For Mains, this links to traditional crafts, tribal material culture and the non-woven textile tradition.

Trap: Many aspirants pick Malvaceae because it is the family of the major fibre crops. Ask which plant part gives the fibre, and whether the cloth is woven or beaten from bark.