Esparto

It is endemic to the Mediterranean region (growing in Portugal, Spain, Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Libya and Egypt).

[1] This species grows forming a steppic landscape – esparto grasslands – which covers large parts of Spain and Algeria.

The oldest baskets of esparto, dating back 7,000 years, were found in a cave in southern Spain (Cueva de los Murciélagos, Albuñol, Granada).

There are many esparto remains in archaeological settlements from as long ago as the Neolithic period, including rugs, ropes, clothes, etc.

For centuries, esparto grasslands have been managed by local populations in order to boost the harvest, due to its economic value.

In southern Spain there is an "Esparto culture": a deep knowledge about the many uses of this fiber forms part of the traditions of these communities.

Shepherds, farmers and other people of the countryside used to plait esparto on rainy days or in times not suitable for working.

Most craft tools and artifacts in the southern Spanish countryside for farming and livestock were made with esparto, such as harvesting baskets, items for the home, and containers/sacks for carts, horses, and donkeys.

There is a huge variety of items, many of which are well known and have a specific use, but others are the product of a special personal need or a free creation, such as toys for children or animals.

Made with crushed esparto and waterproofed with pine pitch, they were used by the shepherds of southeastern Spain to carry water in the mountains.

A wide strip of plaited raw esparto, named "pleita" in Spanish, is the traditional mold for Manchego cheese.