Abutilon theophrasti

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Abutilon theophrasti
Light:Full Sun Part Shade
Moisture:Xeric Mesic
Hardiness:4
Soil pH:5.6-8.4
Height:3'
Blooms:Mid Summer-Late Summer
Native to:
Edible Rating:PFAF Edibility RatingPFAF Edibility RatingPFAF Edibility Rating
Medicinal Rating:PFAF Medicinal RatingPFAF Medicinal RatingPFAF Medicinal Rating
Tea:Yes

Abutilon theophrasti (common name: china jute)

Propagation: Seed - sow early April in a greenhouse. Germination should take place within 2 - 3 weeks. When large enough to handle, prick the seedlings out into individual pots and plant them out in May or June, after the last expected frosts. An outdoor sowing in April to early May in situ could also be tried, especially in those areas with warm summers.

Cultivation: Requires full sun or part day shade and a fertile well-drained soil[1]. Tolerates a pH in the range 5 to 8.2.

This species is cultivated for its fibre in China and Russia where it succeeds as far north as latitude 56°n in W. Siberia[2][3]. It is hardier and more disease-resistant than Jute (Corchorus spp.)[3].

Introduced to N. America in the eighteenth century, it has become a pestilential weed in many parts of the country[4].

Range: Asia - tropical. Naturalised in S.E. Europe and the Mediterranean[5].

Habitat: Cultivated ground and waste places in the Mediterranean[5].

Edibility: Seeds - raw or cooked. They can be eaten raw when they are under-ripe[6]. The ripe seed is dried and ground into a powder then used in soups, bread etc[7][8]. It is washed first to remove any bitterness[6]. The seed contains about 17.4% protein, 16% fat, 33.8% carbohydrate, 4.4% ash[6].

Unripe fruit - raw[7]. This is really more of a seedpod[K].

Medicinal: Ophthalmic. Used in the treatment of dysentery and opacity of the cornea[9][8].

The leaves contain 0.01% rutin and are used as a demulcent[10]. A tea made from the dried leaves is used in the treatment of dysentery and fevers[11]. A poultice of the leaves is applied to ulcers[11].

The bark is astringent and diuretic[10].

A tea made from the dried root is used in the treatment of dysentery and urinary incontinence[11]. It is also used to treat fevers[10].

The seed is powdered and eaten in the treatment of dysentery, stomach-aches etc[11]. It is demulcent, diuretic, emollient, laxative and stomachic[12].

Usage: A fibre obtained from the stems is used as a jute substitute[3][13]. It is coarse but flexible and strong[13][14]. It is also used in rope-making[15][2]. It takes dyes well[14]. The fibre is also used for making paper, the stems are harvested in the summer, the leaves removed and the stems steamed in order to remove the fibres[16].

The seeds contain about 19% of a semi-drying oil[10].

Soil: Can grow in light, medium, and heavy soils.

Drainage: Prefers well drained soil.

In Leaf: Late Spring-Mid Fall

Flower Type: Hermaphrodite

Also Known As: A. avicennae. Gaertn.

Links

References

  1. ↑ Huxley, Anthony. The New Royal Horticultural Society Dictionary of Gardening. MacMillan Press, 1992.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 Usher, George. A Dictionary of Plants Used by Man. Constable, 1974.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 Britannica. Encyclopaedia Britannica 15th edition. 1982.
  4. ↑ Coffey, Timothy. The History and Folklore of North American Wild Flowers. Facts on File, 1993.
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 Tutin, Tom et al.. Flora Europaea. Cambridge University Press, 1964.
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 Read, Bernard. Famine Foods Listed in the Chiu Huang Pen Ts'ao. Taipei Southern Materials Centre, 1977.
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 Kunkel, Günther. Plants for Human Consumption. Koeltz Scientific Books, 1984.
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 Stuart, George. Chinese Materia Medica. Taipei Southern Materials Centre.
  9. ↑ Singh, Gurcharan and Premnath Kachroo. Forest Flora of Srinagar. Bishen Singh Mahendra Pal Singh, 1976.
  10. ↑ 10.0 10.1 10.2 10.3 Chopra, R. Glossary of Indian Medicinal Plants. Council of Scientific and Industrial Research, New Delhi, 1986.
  11. ↑ 11.0 11.1 11.2 11.3 Foster, Steven and Billy Tatum. Medicinal Plants of Eastern and Central North America. Houghton Mifflin, 1990.
  12. ↑ Duke, James and Edward Ayensu. Medicinal Plants of China. Reference Publications, 1985.
  13. ↑ 13.0 13.1 Buchanan, Rita. A Weavers Garden.
  14. ↑ 14.0 14.1 Hill, Albert. Economic Botany. The Maple Press, 1952.
  15. ↑ Uphof, Johannes. Dictionary of Economic Plants. Weinheim, 1959.
  16. ↑ Bell, Lilian. Plant Fibres for Papermaking. Liliaceae Press, 1988.


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