An upright annual grown for the strong fiber in its stem, used much like jute.
Kenaf (Hibiscus cannabinus, family Malvaceae) is an upright plant, annual or living several years, usually single-stemmed and around 1.8 metres tall, though selected varieties reach 5 metres; its stems can become woody. It is a multi-purpose plant giving food, medicine and other products. It has been grown as a fibre crop in Africa for about 6,000 years and is now cultivated widely in the tropics and subtropics for its fibre, for the oil in its seed, and as a food and medicinal plant. The fibre and the seed oil are traded, and the edible leaves are sold in local markets. Its original home is uncertain, and it is not known truly wild.
It is usually grown as an annual, up to 1,000 metres, doing best where daytime temperatures are 15 to 28°C and rainfall is 600 to 2,000 mm a year. It prefers well-drained, fertile, light sandy soil in full sun but adapts to most soils; frost, and heavy rain with strong wind, damage it. It is a short-day plant that will not flower until days are shorter than 12.5 hours. Growth is fast: leaves can be picked within a month of sowing and fibre is ready in three to four months, with yields of 1 to 6 tonnes of fibre and 20 to 30 tonnes of leaves per hectare. Seed germinates quickly, especially after a 24-hour soak, and stays viable for about eight months. Where it grows it is often a weed of crops.
Source: Useful Tropical Plants database (Fern, K.).
Young leaves are eaten as a vegetable in parts of Africa.
Grown as a fiber crop, harvested and retted to separate the bast fiber from the stem.