苘麻 qing ma

Sida abutilon Linnaeus, Sp. Pl. 2: 685. 1753; Abutilon avicennae Gaertner, nom. illeg. superfl.; A. avicennae var. chinense Skvortsov; A. avicennae f. nigrum Skvortsov; A. californicum Bentham; A. pubescens Moench; A. theophrasti var. chinense (Skvortsov) S. Y. Hu; A. theophrasti var. nigrum (Skvortsov) S. Y. Hu; A. tiliifolium (Fischer) Sweet; S. tiliifolia Fischer.

Herbs subshrublike, annual, 1-2 m tall. Petiole 3-12 cm, stellate hairy; leaf blade orbicular-cordate, 5-10 cm in diam., both surfaces densely stellate pubescent, base cordate, margin minutely crenate, apex long acuminate. Flowers solitary, axillary, yellow. Pedicel 1-3 cm, pubescent, articulate near apex. Calyx cup-shaped, densely puberulent, lobes 5, ovate, ca. 6 mm. Corolla uniformly yellow; petals obovate, ca. 1 cm. Filament tube glabrous. Ovary 15-20-loculed, 1-1.5 cm, densely pubescent, apex truncate. Capsule semiglobose, ca. 1.2 × 2 cm; mericarps 15-20, stellate pilose, apex 2-awned, awns spreading, 3-5 mm, hairy. Seed reniform, brown, stellate puberulent. Fl. Jul-Aug.

Disturbed areas, neglected fields, also cultivated. Anhui, Fujian, Gansu, Guangdong, Guangxi, Hebei, Heilongjiang, Henan, Hubei, Hunan, Jiangsu, Jiangxi, Jilin, Liaoning, Nei Mongol, Ningxia, Shaanxi, Shandong, Shanghai, Sichuan, Taiwan, Xinjiang, Yunnan [India, Japan, Kazakhstan, Korea, Kyrgyzstan, Mongolia, Pakistan, Russia, Tajikistan, Thailand, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Vietnam; Africa, SW Asia, Australia, Europe, North America].

Abutilon theophrasti is extensively cultivated for its bast fibers, which are used to make string, rope, shoes, rugs, and countless other items; it is also used medicinally for fever, dysentery, and stomachaches. The fiber is known as "China Jute" or "Tientsin Jute."