Types of Silk Quiz: Mulberry, Tussar, Eri and Muga

India's four main silks

• Mulberry silk: from the silkworm Bombyx mori, which feeds on mulberry leaves. It is smooth and lustrous and makes up most of India's silk. Karnataka is the largest producing state. Kanjeevaram, Banarasi and Mysore silk use mulberry silk.
• Tussar (tasar) silk: a wild silk with a natural golden-copper colour and a textured, matte look. Jharkhand is the largest producer; Bhagalpur in Bihar is famous for tussar weaving.
• Eri silk: from Assam and the North East. The moth is allowed to leave the cocoon before the silk is used, so it is called ahimsa or peace silk. Because the filament is broken, eri is spun like cotton, not reeled.
• Muga silk: found only in Assam, with a natural golden sheen. It has a GI tag.

Industry facts

• Sericulture is the rearing of silkworms to produce raw silk.
• India is the world's second-largest silk producer after China, and it produces all of these commercial varieties.
• The Central Silk Board, under the Ministry of Textiles, is headquartered in Bengaluru.

Real silk or art silk?

"Art silk" (artificial silk) usually means viscose or polyester made to look like silk. For pure silk, look for the Silk Mark label or use the burn test. Always get "pure silk" written on the bill.