Corchorus olitorius

Jew’s Mallow or Corchorus olitorius is a tropical, annual herb that is upright, branching, and slightly woody. The leaves are shiny and have leaf stalks. The flowers are yellow and small and form into clusters in the axils of the leaves. The fruit are rigged capsules. The seeds are dull grey and with four faces and one long point. The leaves are used in the treatment of cystitis, gonorrhoea, and dysuria. The seeds are purgative. The stem is the main source of jute used in sack cloth, paper etc. The wood is very light and soft and is used in making sulphur matches. The leaves and young fruits are used as a vegetable. The leaves are dried and used for tea and as a soup thickener. The seeds are edible as well.

Corchorus olitorius is a ANNUAL/PERENNIAL growing to 3.5 m at a fast rate.
It is hardy to zone 10. It is in flower from August to October, and the seeds ripen in October. The species is hermaphrodite and is pollinated by Insects.
Suitable for: light , medium and heavy soils and prefers well-drained soil. Suitable pH: acid, neutral and basic soils and can grow in very acid and very alkaline soils.
It cannot grow in the shade. It prefers moist soil.

Plants grow well in the lowland tropics, up to an elevation of around 700 metres. They are reported to tolerate an annual precipitation between 400 and 4290mm, an annual average temperature range of 16.8 to 27.5°c. Prefers a very fertile, humus-rich, well-drained alluvial soil, though it is extremely tolerant of soil conditions. It grows best in a hot humid climate. Tolerates very wet conditions according to one report whilst another says that it does not tolerate waterlogged soils. Some cultivars are sensitive to excess water in the soil, especially when they are young. Tolerates a pH in the range of 4.5 to 8.2. There are two important cultivar-groups:- Olitorius Group. These are the forms mainly grown for their edible leaves. They are characterized by a plant height lower than 2 metres, often not more than 1 metre, and a more or less heavily branched plant habit. There are many named forms within this group. Textilis Group. These are the forms mainly grown for their fibre. The plants are usually larger, up to 4 metres, perhaps even 5 metres tall, and only slightly branched at the top. The first harvest, by cutting shoots 20 - 30cm long, may take place 4 - 6 weeks after transplanting, at a height of 10 - 20cm above the ground. This cutting stimulates the development of side shoots. Subsequently, every 2 - 3 weeks, a cutting may take place, with a total of 2 - 8 cuttings possible. For a once-over harvest from a direct sown crop, the plants are uprooted or cut at ground level when they are 30 - 40cm tall, 3 - 5 weeks after emergence and before the development of fruits. In Nigeria, a yield of 20 - 25kg from a 10 square metre bed may be expected from 3 - 9 cuttings of 'Amugbadu' during a period of 3 - 4 months. A yield of 38 tonnes per hectare was obtained from a well-fertilized field of cultivar 'Ewondo' in the Cameroon. Farmers however, usually obtain average yields of 5 - 15 tonnes. The world average jute yield is about 1.9 tonnes of raw fibre per hectare, but yields of 5 tonnes have been obtained in Bangladesh with improved cultivars grown under optimal agronomic conditions. Intercropped with Vigna, jute has yielded 3,270 kilos compared to 2290 kilos when monocropped. A commercially cultivated vegetable and an important vegetable in arid areas. Part of the national dish of Egypt.