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Abutilon theophrasti

Common name:	China Jute	Family:	Malvaceae
Author:	Medik.	Botanical references:	200
Synonyms:	Sida abutilon (L.), Abutilon avicennae (Gaertn.)
Known Hazards:	None known
Range:	Asia - tropical. Naturalised in S.E. Europe and the Mediterranean[50].
Habitat:	Cultivated ground and waste places in the Mediterranean[50].
Edibility Rating (1-5):	3	Medicinal Rating (1-5):	2

Other Possible Synonyms:	From various places across the web, may not be correct. See below.
	A. abutilon[B,P]
Other Common Names:	From various places around the Web, may not be correct. See below.
	Fluweelblad [D], Itibi [E], Velvetleaf [P,L,B],
Systematics:	From a USDA Plants Database
	Order: Malvales. Mallow family
Other Range Info:	From the Ethnobotany Database
	China
Noxious, Invasive and Injurious Weeds	From USDA PLANTS database, Weeds Australia , DEFRA Injurious Weeds
	Listed as noxious/invasive for: Colorado, Iowa, Minnesota, Oregon, Washington.

Physical Characteristics

Annual growing to 1m. It is hardy to zone 4. It is in leaf from May to October, in flower from July to August. The flowers are hermaphrodite (have both male and female organs). We rate it 3/5 for edibility and 2/5 for medicinal use.

The plant prefers light (sandy), medium (loamy) and heavy (clay) soils and requires well-drained soil. The plant prefers acid, neutral and basic (alkaline) soils and can grow in very alkaline soil. It can grow in semi-shade (light woodland) or no shade. It requires dry or moist soil.

Habitats and Possible Locations

Cultivated Beds.

Edible Uses

Fruit; Seed.

Seeds - raw or cooked. They can be eaten raw when they are under-ripe[179]. The ripe seed is dried and ground into a powder then used in soups, bread etc[177, 178]. It is washed first to remove any bitterness[179]. The seed contains about 17.4% protein, 16% fat, 33.8% carbohydrate, 4.4% ash[179].
Unripe fruit - raw[177]. This is really more of a seedpod[K].

Composition

Seed (Fresh weight): In grammes per 100g weight of food:
Protein: 17.4 Fat: 16 Carbohydrate: 33.8 Ash: 4.4

Medicinal Uses

Disclaimer

Astringent; Demulcent; Diuretic; Emollient; Laxative; Ophthalmic; Poultice; Stomachic.

Ophthalmic. Used in the treatment of dysentery and opacity of the cornea[145, 178].
The leaves contain 0.01% rutin and are used as a demulcent[240]. A tea made from the dried leaves is used in the treatment of dysentery and fevers[222]. A poultice of the leaves is applied to ulcers[222].
The bark is astringent and diuretic[240].
A tea made from the dried root is used in the treatment of dysentery and urinary incontinence[222]. It is also used to treat fevers[240].
The seed is powdered and eaten in the treatment of dysentery, stomach-aches etc[222]. It is demulcent, diuretic, emollient, laxative and stomachic[218].

Other Uses

Fibre; Oil; Paper.

A fibre obtained from the stems is used as a jute substitute[123, 169]. It is coarse but flexible and strong[169, 171]. It is also used in rope-making[46, 61]. It takes dyes well[171]. 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[189].
The seeds contain about 19% of a semi-drying oil[240].

Cultivation details

Requires full sun or part day shade and a fertile well-drained soil[200]. 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[61, 123]. It is hardier and more disease-resistant than Jute (Corchorus spp.)[123].
Introduced to N. America in the eighteenth century, it has become a pestilential weed in many parts of the country[207].

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.

Suppliers

For more details of plant suppliers please see our Suppliers Page which lists many more places to look.

Web References

[H] Details of Scandanavian and European Common names in Henriette's names database
[B] Data (Latin & Common names, other references) from the BONAP's Synonymized Checklist of the Vascular Flora of the United States, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands.
[C] Taxon data. from the CalFlora database.
[G] Data (Common Names, Uses, Distribution) from the USDA/ARS NPGS's GRIN taxonomic database.
[P] Data. (uses, distribution, wetland) from the USDA'a Plants database.
[HP] Links, Photos, Suppliers from Hortiplex Plant Database

References for Abutilon avicennae (a possible synonym).

[E] Ethnobotany Data (common names, uses, countries) from the Ethnobotany Database.

References for the family Malvaceae.

[CHINA] Draft Data Very detailed botanical/identification info. from the Flora of China.

See the PFAF Links Pages for other sources.

Also try Photos and info from the The Plants Database which has 14,000 images.

References

[K] Ken Fern
Notes from observations, tasting etc at Plants For A Future and on field trips.

[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.

[50] ? Flora Europaea Cambridge University Press 1964
An immense work in 6 volumes (including the index). The standard reference flora for europe, it is very terse though and with very little extra information. Not for the casual reader.

[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.

[123] ? Encyclopaedia Britannica. 15th edition.
It contains a few things of interest to the plant project.

[145] Singh. Dr. G. and Kachroo. Prof. Dr. P. Forest Flora of Srinagar. Bishen Singh Mahendra Pal Singh 1976
A good flora of the western Himalayas but poorly illustrated. Some information on plant uses.

[169] Buchanan. R. A Weavers Garden.
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.

[177] Kunkel. G. Plants for Human Consumption. Koeltz Scientific Books 1984 ISBN 3874292169
An excellent book for the dedicated. A comprehensive listing of latin names with a brief list of edible parts.

[178] Stuart. Rev. G. A. Chinese Materia Medica. Taipei. Southern Materials Centre
A translation of an ancient Chinese herbal. Fascinating.

[179] Reid. B. E. Famine Foods of the Chiu-Huang Pen-ts'ao. Taipei. Southern Materials Centre 1977
A translation of an ancient Chinese book on edible wild foods. Fascinating.

[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.

[207] Coffey. T. The History and Folklore of North American Wild Flowers. Facts on File. 1993 ISBN 0-8160-2624-6
A nice read, lots of information on plant uses.

[218] Duke. J. A. and Ayensu. E. S. Medicinal Plants of China Reference Publications, Inc. 1985 ISBN 0-917256-20-4
Details of over 1,200 medicinal plants of China and brief details of their uses. Often includes an analysis, or at least a list of constituents. Heavy going if you are not into the subject.

[222] Foster. S. & Duke. J. A. A Field Guide to Medicinal Plants. Eastern and Central N. America. Houghton Mifflin Co. 1990 ISBN 0395467225
A concise book dealing with almost 500 species. A line drawing of each plant is included plus colour photographs of about 100 species. Very good as a field guide, it only gives brief details about the plants medicinal properties.

[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.

Readers Comments

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