Jute / East Indian Mallow
Corchorus aestuans
Jute / East Indian Mallow
Corchorus aestuans
Corchorus aestuans is an annual plant with erect, sparingly branched stems, growing about 40cm tall.
The plant yields a fibre and edible leaves. It is harvested from the wild for local use and is sometimes also cultivated as a fibre plant in tropical W Africa.
Leaves
Leaves thinly textured. Leaf blades 10-50 x 10-25 mm; petioles slender, 3-23 mm long, densely pubescent. Stipules hairy, linear, 2-8 mm long; long hairs on veins on abaxial surface
Flowers
Inflorescence a reduced 2-3 -flowered umbel. Peduncle 0.3-2 mm long. Pedicel glabrous, 1-2.5 mm long. Calyx lobes shorter than corolla, 2-3.5 mm long, very narrow and glabrous outside. Petals 2.5-4.5 mm long. Stamens 10. Ovary cylindrical, ribbed and silky pubescent. Stigma fimbriate.
Fruit
capsule ca. narrowly ellipsoid, straight, 8-20 x 3.5-6 mm. Apex of capsule with three bifid horns 2-5 mm long. Annulus prominent in young fruit. Seeds strongly angular, testa dull brown to reddish brown.
Originally native to the Americas, the plant has spread throughout the tropics and has become an invasive weed in some areas.
Edible Uses
Leaves - raw or cooked. They can be eaten in salads, used as a vegetable or potherb, or used for vegetable bouillon.
Used as a stomachic, anti-inflammatory and as a treatment for pneumonia in India.
Corchorus aestuans
Corchorus aestuans is an annual plant with erect, sparingly branched stems, growing about 40cm tall.
The plant yields a fibre and edible leaves. It is harvested from the wild for local use and is sometimes also cultivated as a fibre plant in tropical W Africa.
Leaves
Leaves thinly textured. Leaf blades 10-50 x 10-25 mm; petioles slender, 3-23 mm long, densely pubescent. Stipules hairy, linear, 2-8 mm long; long hairs on veins on abaxial surface
Flowers
Inflorescence a reduced 2-3 -flowered umbel. Peduncle 0.3-2 mm long. Pedicel glabrous, 1-2.5 mm long. Calyx lobes shorter than corolla, 2-3.5 mm long, very narrow and glabrous outside. Petals 2.5-4.5 mm long. Stamens 10. Ovary cylindrical, ribbed and silky pubescent. Stigma fimbriate.
Fruit
capsule ca. narrowly ellipsoid, straight, 8-20 x 3.5-6 mm. Apex of capsule with three bifid horns 2-5 mm long. Annulus prominent in young fruit. Seeds strongly angular, testa dull brown to reddish brown.
Originally native to the Americas, the plant has spread throughout the tropics and has become an invasive weed in some areas.
Edible Uses
Leaves - raw or cooked. They can be eaten in salads, used as a vegetable or potherb, or used for vegetable bouillon.
Used as a stomachic, anti-inflammatory and as a treatment for pneumonia in India.
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