Plant Fiber Cordage: Dogbane, Nettle, and Inner Bark

Why Natural Cordage

Your paracord supply is finite. Natural fiber cordage can be made in the field from widely available plants, using nothing but your hands. The skill takes practice — your first attempts will be weak and ugly — but competent natural cordage is genuinely strong and has been used by humans for tens of thousands of years.

This guide covers the three most practical North American sources: dogbane, stinging nettle, and inner bark from several tree species.

Dogbane (Apocynum cannabinum)

Identification

Dogbane grows 2-4 feet tall with opposite, oval leaves that have a milky sap when broken. The stalks are reddish-brown in fall after the plant dies back. Seed pods are long (4-8 inches), narrow, and paired, resembling green beans early in the season. Found in disturbed areas, roadsides, field edges, and forest margins across most of North America.

Caution: Dogbane is toxic if ingested. Wash hands after handling. Do not confuse with common milkweed (Asclepias syriaca), which makes inferior but acceptable cordage.

Harvesting

Harvest dead standing stalks in fall and winter — the drying naturally ret the stalks. Green stalks require deliberate retting. Break a stalk: good cordage stalks split cleanly and the fiber inside is white and silky, not brown or mushy.

Processing

Stinging Nettle (Urtica dioica)

Identification

Stinging nettle is a 3-6 foot plant with serrated, heart-shaped leaves covered in fine hollow hairs that inject formic acid on contact. Grows in rich, moist soil near water, forest edges, and disturbed areas. Widely distributed across North America and Europe.

Harvesting Safely

Gloves are not optional — even light contact produces a burning rash lasting 20-30 minutes. Cut mature stalks (after flowering, late summer through fall) at the base. Dead standing stalks in winter have already ret on the plant and are easier to process.

Processing

Processing is similar to dogbane:

1. Let stalks dry completely or harvest dead standing stalks
2. Crush the stalk lengthwise with a smooth rock on a flat surface
3. Pull the woody inner core away from the bast fibers
4. Scrape the fibers clean with a smooth stone or dull blade edge
5. Dry and bundle for twisting

Nettle fibers are slightly shorter than dogbane but make excellent cordage. The stinging property is destroyed when the plant dries.

Inner Bark (Phloem Layer)

The inner bark (phloem layer, just inside the outer bark) of several tree species makes usable cordage. It is not as strong as bast fibers from dedicated fiber plants, but it is widely available.

Best Species

| Tree | Quality | Notes | |------|---------|-------| | Basswood (Tilia americana) | Excellent | Best tree bark cordage in North America | | Cedar (Thuja, Juniperus spp.) | Good | Widely available; flexible; shreds easily | | Willow (Salix spp.) | Moderate | Harvest green bark from young branches | | Elm (Ulmus spp.) | Good | Long fibers; found in most eastern forests | | Cottonwood (Populus spp.) | Moderate | Works best from young branches |

Harvesting Inner Bark

1. Cut a section of young branch or trunk (2-4 inch diameter for easy peeling)
2. Score the outer bark in a ring at each end of your section
3. Score a single line from ring to ring
4. Peel back the outer bark in sections
5. Scrape the inner bark (phloem) away from the wood with a dull blade or flat stone
6. You should have thin, fibrous sheets or strips

Important: Harvesting bark from a living tree damages it. Take small amounts from lower branches you can cut without killing the tree, or harvest from fallen or harvested timber. Large-scale stripping kills the tree.

Retting Inner Bark

Raw inner bark is stiff and weak. Retting dramatically improves it:

1. Bundle the bark strips loosely
2. Submerge in still or slow-moving water for 3-7 days
3. Remove when the fibers separate easily from each other with gentle pulling
4. Rinse, dry completely before twisting into cordage

Alternatively: boil inner bark strips for 2 hours, then allow to dry. This softens and partly separates the fibers without retting time.

Fiber Preparation: Final Step

All processed fibers need one final step before twisting. Hold a bundle of fibers at one end and pull the other end across a smooth hard surface several times. This straightens, aligns, and separates the fibers. The bundle should feel soft and silky, with fibers running parallel.

If fibers feel stiff, brittle, or bunched, more processing is needed. Strong cordage begins with well-prepared, aligned fibers. The twisting technique is in the companion article (two-ply-twist-cordage.mdx).