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Corchorus olitorius - L.

Jew's Mallow

Author	L.	Botanical references	200, 266
Family	Tiliaceae	Genus	Corchorus
Synonyms
Known Hazards	None known
Range	Tropical Asia?
Habitat	Original habitat is obscure.
Edibility Rating	3 (1-5)	Medicinal Rating	2 (1-5)

Physical Characteristics

Annual/Perennial growing to 3.5m at a fast rate.

The plant prefers light (sandy), medium (loamy) and heavy (clay) soils. The plant prefers acid, neutral and basic (alkaline) soils and can grow in very alkaline soil. It cannot grow in the shade. It requires moist soil.

Habitats

Cultivated Beds;

Edible Uses

Edible Parts: Leaves; Seed.

Edible Uses: Tea.

Leaves - raw or cooked[1, 27, 46, 61]. Young leaves are added to salads whilst older leaves are cooked as a pot-herb[2, 183, 269]. High in protein[183]. The dried leaves can be used as a thickener in soups[183]. A tea is made from the dried leaves[183]. Immature fruits are added to salads or used as a potherb[183].

Medicinal Uses

Plants For A Future can not take any responsibility for any adverse effects from the use of plants. Always seek advice from a professional before using a plant medicinally.

Demulcent; Diuretic; Febrifuge; Tonic.

The leaves are demulcent, diuretic, febrifuge and tonic[240]. They are used in the treatment of chronic cystitis, gonorrhoea and dysuria[240]. A cold infusion is said to restore the appetite and strength[269]. The seeds are purgative[240]. Injections of olitoriside, an extract from the plant, markedly improve cardiac insufficiencies and have no cumulative attributes; hence, it can serve as a substitute for strophanthin[269].

Other Uses

Fibre; Wood.

A fibre is obtained from the stems, it is the main source of jute[46, 61, 200] but is considered to be inferior to the fibre obtained from C. capsularis[61]. The fibre is somewhat coarse and is used mainly for sackcloth etc[57]. The stems are harvested when the plant is in flower and are then retted (allowed to begin to rot) so that the fibre can be extracted[171]. This species tends to branch making fibre extraction more difficult[114]. Growing the plants very close together will prevent some of the branching. If used in making paper, the fibres are cooked for 2 hours with lye and then ball milled for 4½ hours. The paper is grey/buff[189]. Fibre yields run ca 800-1600 kg/ha with exceptional cases of 2400 in India, and genetic potential of 4000 kg/ha, the fibre representing ca 6% of the green weight[269]. Intercropped with Vigna, jute has yielded 3270 kg compared to 2290 monocropped[269]. The very light and soft wood is used in making sulphur matches[158].

Cultivation details

Prefers a very fertile soil and a hot humid climate[169]. Tolerates very wet conditions according to one report[57] whilst another says that it does not tolerate waterlogged soils[169]. Jute is reported to tolerate an annual precipitation between 40 and 429m,an annual average temperature range of 16.8 to 27.5°C and a pH in the range of 4.5 to 8.2[269]. Jute is sometimes cultivated for the fibre in its stem and also for its edible leaves[183]. It makes an excellent spinach substitute in areas with hot summers[183]. This species is not hardy in Britain but it can be grown as a half-hardy annual here, though it grows much better in areas that are warmer than typical summers in this country[27]. Some reports say that this plant is an annual whilst one says that it is perennial. Since the plant is not hardy in Britain we can only grow it as an annual. This species is very closely related to C. capsularis

Propagation

Seed - sow spring in a greenhouse. When they are large enough to handle, prick the seedlings out into individual pots and plant them out in late spring, after the last expected frosts[200]. In areas with hot summers it should be possible to sow the seed in situ in mid spring.

Links

References

[1] F. Chittendon. RHS Dictionary of Plants plus Supplement. 1956 Oxford University Press 1951
Comprehensive listing of species and how to grow them. Somewhat outdated, it has been replaces in 1992 by a new dictionary (see [200]).

[2] Hedrick. U. P. Sturtevant's Edible Plants of the World. Dover Publications 1972 ISBN 0-486-20459-6
Lots of entries, quite a lot of information in most entries and references.

[27] Vilmorin. A. The Vegetable Garden. Ten Speed Press 0 ISBN 0-89815-041-8
A reprint of a nineteenth century classic, giving details of vegetable varieties. Not really that informative though.

[46] Uphof. J. C. Th. Dictionary of Economic Plants. Weinheim 1959
An excellent and very comprehensive guide but it only gives very short descriptions of the uses without any details of how to utilize the plants. Not for the casual reader.

[57] Schery. R. W. Plants for Man. 0
Fairly readable but not very comprehensive. Deals with plants from around the world.

[61] Usher. G. A Dictionary of Plants Used by Man. Constable 1974 ISBN 0094579202
Forget the sexist title, this is one of the best books on the subject. Lists a very extensive range of useful plants from around the world with very brief details of the uses. Not for the casual reader.

[114] Chakravarty. H. L. The Plant Wealth of Iraq. 0
It is surprising how many of these plants can be grown in Britain. A very readable book on the useful plants of Iraq.

[158] Gupta. B. L. Forest Flora of Chakrata, Dehra Dun and Saharanpur. Forest Research Institute Press 1945
A good flora for the middle Himalayan forests, sparsly illustrated. Not really for the casual reader.

[169] Buchanan. R. A Weavers Garden. 0
Covers all aspects of growing your own clothes, from fibre plants to dyes.

[171] Hill. A. F. Economic Botany. The Maple Press 1952
Not very comprehensive, but it is quite readable and goes into some a bit of detail about the plants it does cover.

[183] Facciola. S. Cornucopia - A Source Book of Edible Plants. Kampong Publications 1990 ISBN 0-9628087-0-9
Excellent. Contains a very wide range of conventional and unconventional food plants (including tropical) and where they can be obtained (mainly N. American nurseries but also research institutes and a lot of other nurseries from around the world.

[189] Bell. L. A. Plant Fibres for Papermaking. Liliaceae Press 1988
A good practical section on how to make paper on a small scale plus details of about 75 species (quite a few of them tropical) that can be used.

[200] Huxley. A. The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992. MacMillan Press 1992 ISBN 0-333-47494-5
Excellent and very comprehensive, though it contains a number of silly mistakes. Readable yet also very detailed.

[240] Chopra. R. N., Nayar. S. L. and Chopra. I. C. Glossary of Indian Medicinal Plants (Including the Supplement). Council of Scientific and Industrial Research, New Delhi. 1986
Very terse details of medicinal uses of plants with a wide range of references and details of research into the plants chemistry. Not for the casual reader.

[266] Flora of China 1994
On-line version of the Flora - an excellent resource giving basic info on habitat and some uses.

[269] Duke. J. Handbook of Energy Crops - 1983
Published only on the Internet, excellent information on a wide range of plants.

Readers Comments

Plants for a Future does not verify the accuracy of reader comments, use at your own risk. In particular Plants For A Future can not take any responsibility for any adverse effects from the use of plants. You should always consult a professional before using plants medicinally.

Corchorus olitorius

Asif Anwar Fri Jun 2 2006

As a vegetable, Chorchorus olitorius was eaten by the African & Middle-eastern population from ancient period. They used it in a soup or pot-herb called Molokhiya. The material that they used to make Molokhiya, was called Nalita. Nalita is the powder of the dried Corchorus olitoirus leaf. Therefore, in African & Middle-Eastern region, COrchorus olitorius is also called Nalita or Nalta Jute. Some researches have been done in Bangladesh and India that states that its leaves can work as anti-oxidents and can reduce Arsenic Contamination. The fascinating fact about Jute is that, it is the second vegetable fiber after cotton. As it can not be used in manufacturing clothing items, the fiber is also a cheap fiber. However, its fiber is recently being used as Clothing fiber in China. But, Jute fiber has some properties of wood also, because of large amount of Lignin. Therefore, Jute fiber is the finest raw material for composite industries.

The Golden Fibre Trade Centre Limited (GFTCL), Bangladesh The Leading Exporter of Jute, Kenaf, Roselle Hemp, and Jute Textile Products like: Yarn, Netting, Fabric (Burlap/Hessian), and Feed Sacks from Bangladesh.

Corchorus olitorius

Mushtaq Hussain Sun Jun 4 2006

Alternative Names of Chorchorus olitorius in different languages: - English: Red Jute, Tossa Jute, Tussa Jute, Jew's Mallow (Potherb), Bush Okra, West African Sorrel. - Bangla: Tosha Pat, Deshi Pat, Meetha (Sweet) Pat. - Hindi: Janascha Kashto, Singin. - Arabic: Nalta, Nalita, Lif Khaysha. - French: Jute Roax/Rouge, Corete Potager (Potherb), Feuilles Lalo/Lalou (Potherb). - German: Langkapsel-Jute. - Danish: Almindelig Jute. - Russian: Krasnyj Dzhut, Dzut Dlinnoplodnyj. - Estonian: Pikaviljaline Dzuut. - Italian: Juta Rosa, Iuta Rosa, Corcoro Rosa. - Japanese: Taiwan-Tsunaso. - Chinese: Zhong-shuo Huang-ma, Xiao Ma. - Ethiopian: Alsha. - Senegal: Crincrin. - Niger: Lalu, Oyo. - Orient: Meluchia. - Sudan: Nyanypajang.

GFTCL Bangladesh - Exporter of Jute, Kenaf, Roselle Hemp & Jute Textile Products The Golden Fibre Trade Centre Limited (GFTCL) is the leading exporter of Jute, Kenaf, & Roselle Hemp fibers, and Jute Textile Products from Bangladesh.

Corchorus olitorius

Sat Jan 19 2008

veggiefrost Molokhia Nutrition Facts

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