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Hibiscus cannabinus

Common name:	Kenaf	Family:	Malvaceae
Author:	L.	Botanical references:	200, 266
Synonyms:
Known Hazards:	None known
Range:	Original habitat is obscure, it probably arose in the tropics of Asia or America.
Habitat:	Not known in the wild.
Edibility Rating (1-5):	2	Medicinal Rating (1-5):	2

Other Common Names:	From various places around the Web, may not be correct. See below.
	Brown Indian-hemp [B], Brown Indianhemp [P], Jeljel [E],
Epithets:	From a Dictionary of Botanical Epithets
	cannabinus = hemp like;
Systematics:	From a USDA Plants Database
	Order: Malvales. Mallow family
Other Range Info:	From the Ethnobotany Database
	India(Santal); Iraq; Sudan

Physical Characteristics

Annual/Perennial growing to 1.8m at a fast rate. It is hardy to zone 10 and is frost tender. It is in flower from August to September, and the seeds ripen from October to November. The flowers are hermaphrodite (have both male and female organs) and are pollinated by Insects. The plant is self-fertile. We rate it 2/5 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. It cannot grow in the shade. It requires moist soil.

Habitats and Possible Locations

Cultivated Beds.

Edible Uses

Flowers; Leaves; Oil; Root; Seed.

Young leaves - cooked[74, 105, 177]. Used as a potherb or added to soups[183]. The leaves have an acid flavour like sorrel[2].
Seed - roasted or ground into a flour and made into a kind of cake[105, 177, 183].
Root - it is edible but very fibrousy[144]. Mucilaginous, without very much flavour[144].
An edible oil is obtained from the seed[61, 183]. The yield varies from 2 - 10 tonnes per hectare[74] (or is it per acre?).

Medicinal Uses

Disclaimer

Antibilious; Aphrodisiac; Poultice; Purgative.

The juice of the flowers, mixed with sugar and black pepper, is used in the treatment of biliousness with acidity[240].
The seeds are aphrodisiac[240]. They are added to the diet in order to promote weight increase[240]. Externally, they are used as a poultice on pains and bruises[240].
The leaves are purgative[240]. An infusion of the leaves is used in the treatment of coughs[269]. In Ayurvedic medicine, the leaves are used in the treatment of dysentery and bilious, blood and throat disorders.
The powdered leaves are applied to Guinea worms in Africa[269].
The peelings from the stems have been used in the treatment of anaemia, fatigue, lassitude, etc[269].

Other Uses

Dye; Fibre; Friction sticks; Oil; Plant support.

Yields a fibre from the stem[1, 123], a very good jute substitute though it is a bit coarser[61]. The fibre strands, which are 1.5 - 3 metres long, are used for making rope, cordage, canvas, sacking, carpet backing, nets, table cloths etc[74, 123, 269]. For the best quality fibre, the stems should be harvested shortly after the flowers open[171, 269]. The best fibre is at the base of the stems, so hand pulling is often recommended over machine harvesting[269]. Yields of about 1.25 tonnes of fibre per hectare are average, though 2.7 tonnes has been achieved in Cuba[74, 269]. The pulp from the stems has been used in making paper[269].
The seed contains between 18 and 35% of an edible semi-drying oil[61, 74]. It is rather similar to groundnut oil, obtained from Arachis hypogaea[240]. The oil is also used for burning, as a lubricant and in making soap, linoleum, paints and varnishes[46, 61, 74, 269]. The seed yield varies from 2 to 10 tonnes per acre[74] (or is it per hectare?).
The stems have been used as plant supports for growing runner beans etc[269].
The soot from the stems has been used as a black pigment in dyes[269].
The stem has been used as a base for drilling fire[269].

Cultivation details

Prefers a well-drained humus rich fertile soil in full sun[200]. Tolerates most soils but prefers a light sandy soil[123]. Plants are adapted to a wide range of soils and climatic conditions[171]. Kenaf is reported to tolerate an annual precipitation in the range of 57 to 410cm, an annual temperature range of 11.1 to 27.5°C and a pH in the range of 4.3 to 8.2 (though it prefers neutral to slightly acid)[269]. The plant is frost sensitive and damaged by heavy rains with strong winds[269].
Kenaf is widely cultivated in tropical and sub-tropical areas of the world, where it is grown mainly as a fibre crop but also for its seeds and leaves[269]. It is not very hardy outdoors in Britain, it really requires a frost free climate[123]. It can, however, probably be grown as an annual. A fast-growing plant, it can be harvested in 3 - 4 months from seed[50, 61]. The plant requires temperatures in the range of 15 - 25°c[169]. It succeeds as a crop as far north in N. America as Indiana, Iowa, Kansas and Nebraska[160].
Plants are daylight sensitive, they remain vegetative and do not flower until the daylength is less than 12.5 hr/day. Two weeks of very cloudy days will induce flowering as daylength approaches 12.5 hr[269].
The plant has a deep-penetrating taproot with deep-seated laterals[269].
Plants, including any varieties, are partially self-fertile[269].

Propagation

Seed - sow early spring in a warm greenhouse. Germination is usually fairly rapid. Prick out the seedlings into individual pots when they are large enough to handle. If growing them as annuals, plant them out into their permanent positions in early summer and protect them with a frame or cloche until they are growing away well. If hoping to grow them as perennials, then it is better to grow them on in the greenhouse for their first year and to plant them out in early summer of the following year.
Cuttings of half-ripe wood, July/August in a frame. Overwinter them in a warm greenhouse and plant out after the last expected frosts.

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
[E] Ethnobotany Data (common names, uses, countries) from the Ethnobotany 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.
[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.
[HEC] Use, Folk Medicine, etc. from Handbook of Energy Crops by James Duke
[HP] Links, Photos, Suppliers from Hortiplex Plant 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

[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.

[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.

[74] Komarov. V. L. Flora of the USSR. Israel Program for Scientific Translation 1968
An immense (25 or more large volumes) and not yet completed translation of the Russian flora. Full of information on plant uses and habitats but heavy going for casual readers.

[105] Tanaka. T. Tanaka's Cyclopaedia of Edible Plants of the World. Keigaku Publishing 1976
The most comprehensive guide to edible plants I've come across. Only the briefest entry for each species, though, and some of the entries are more than a little dubious. Not for the casual reader.

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

[144] Cribb. A. B. and J. W. Wild Food in Australia. Fontana 1976 ISBN 0-00-634436-4
A very good pocket guide.

[160] Natural Food Institute, Wonder Crops. 1987.
Fascinating reading, this is an annual publication. Some reports do seem somewhat exaggerated though.

[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.

[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.

[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

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Plant information taken from the Plants For A Future - Species Database. Copyright (c) 1997-2003.
WEB search engine by Rich Morris - Home Page- Contact Info
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