Corchorus

Common throughout Pakistan in plains and low hills in moist shady places and sandy to silty clay loam soils of barren lands and cultivated fields as a weed.

The mucilage, obtained from the plant by macerating it in water, is used as a demulcent. The bitter seeds called Isband (Sind) and Raja Jira (Bombay) have been used by natives in fever and abdominal obstructions. The coarse fibre is employed in manufacturing cordage.

An erect or suberect, 30-150 cm tall, annual herb or rarely perennial undershrubs. Stem profusely branched from the base, shoot pubescent. Leaves narrowly oblong-lanceolate to broadly oblong or elliptic to ovate-oblong, (1.4-) 2-12 cm long, (0.6-) 1-3.2 cm broad, sparsely hairy on both sides, crenate-serrate, basal serratures prolonged into filiform appendages or not, truncate or somewhat rounded at apex; petiole 7-12 mm long, pilose; stipules setose, 5-8 mm long. Cymes solitary, 1-3-flowered, antiphyllous, shortly pedunculate. Flowers yellow, c. 1.2 cm across; pedicel c. 2.5 mm long, glabrous; bracts linear-lanceolate, c. 3 mm long, caudate. Sepals linear-oblong, c. 5 mm long, acute. Petals somewhat pandurate, 5-6 mm long, c. 2.5 mm broad, obtuse. Stamens 15-20, filaments 5-6 mm long. Carpels 3; ovary cylindric, c. 3 mm long, 3-loculed, hairy; style shorter than ovary, stigmas 3, capitate. Capsules 1-3 together, erect, triangular, hairy when young, scabrous-tuberculate when mature, 2-6.8 cm long, c. 2.5 mm across, with c. 2.5 mm long undivided beak, 3-loculed, locules transversely septate.

Distribution: Pakistan, Afghanistan, India (Punjab, Utter Pradesh, Bihar, Bengal, Peninsular India), Sri Lanka (Ceylon), Sikkim, Bhutan, Australia, tropical and north Africa.

Fl. Per.: June-October.