Common Name: Bur Mallow

General Information

Bur mallow is a fast-growing, spreading, branched shrub that can reach a height of 4 - 5 metres. It is often treated as an annual, however, when it will reach a height of 0.5 - 2.5 metres and, if grown closely together, will not branch much[, ].
The plant is a popular herbal medicine in eastern Asia and also supplies food and a fibre with commercial possibilities. It is more commonly gathered from the wild, but is sometimes cultivated for its fibre and it is also sometimes sold in local markets as a medicinal plant[, ].

Known Hazards

None known

Botanical References

Range

A weed, pantropical in distribution.

Habitat

Roadsides; waste places; fallow fields; plantations; secondary growth; teak-forests;, often naturalized as a noxious weed. It is found at elevations from sea-level up to 2,000 metres[].

Properties

Weed Potential	Yes
Edibility Rating
Medicinal Rating
Other Uses Rating
Habit	Shrub
Height	3.00 m
Pollinators	Ants, Aphids, Hymenoptera
Cultivation Status	Cultivated, Wild

Cultivation Details

The plant has spread widely as a weed throughout the wet to semi-arid tropics and into the subtropics. It is sometimes cultivated as an annual in cooler climates[]. It grows best in areas where the mean maximum and minimum annual temperatures are within the range 21 - 27°c, though it can tolerate 18 - 32°c[]. It prefers a mean annual rainfall of 700 - 1,200mm, but tolerates 550 - 4,300mm[].
Requires a sunny position[]. Prefers humus rich, medium-textured soils but can succeed in a range of conditions as long as the soil is well-drained[]. Prefers a pH in the range 5.5 - 6.5, tolerating 4.5 - 8[].
The seed capsules, which are covered in hairs that stick to clothing and fur, can be carried some distance from the plant and thus the plant spreads into new areas[, ]. It has become an invasive weed in many areas[].
A short-day plant, flowering starts 4 - 6 months after sowing, depending on the sowing time, while most viable seed is produced 1 - 2 months after flowering[].
Production of green plants may be about 40 t/ha, yielding about 2 - 3 t/ha of dry retted fibre[].
The flowers open early in the morning and wither about noon[].

Edible Uses

Seeds - added to stews and porridges[, ]. A mucilaginous texture[]. The seed contains about 7% of a fatty oil[].

Young leaves - cooked and used as a vegetable[].

Medicinal

The plant is commonly used in traditional medicine, with the leaves and roots most commonly employed.

The juice of the leaves or roots is used widely to treat bowel complaints, especially colic, stomach-ache, diarrhoea and dysentery, and also to treat gonorrhoea and persistent fever from malaria[]. A decoction from the leaves and roots is drunk to relieve pains all over the body due to excessive exertion[]. A decoction of a very old plant, boiled with eggs, is said to induce abortion[].
A lotion made from the plant is used to treat yaws and headache[]. The whole plant is macerated and used externally for treating fractures, wounds, mastitis and snake bites[].

The leaves are diuretic, emollient, refrigerant, styptic, vulnerary[]. They are used to treat inflammation of the intestines and bladder[].
The leaves are used externally as a poultice on wounds and skin diseases[].

The roots are diuretic[]. An infusion is given to aid difficult childbirth[]. The roots are used to treat rheumatism and lumbago[]. A decoction of the root is used to treat colds, dysentery, enteritis, goitre, indigestion, leucorrhoea, malaria, rheumatism and tonsillitis[].
Used externally, they are chewed and applied to swellings caused by filariasis[].

The twigs are chewed to treat toothache[].

The bark is used to heal cuts[].

The flowers are considered maturative and are taken in decoction as a pectoral and expectorant in dry coughs[].
An infusion of the flowers is used as a gargle for aphthae and a sore throat[].

A decoction of the seeds is taken as a vermifuge[].

Agroforestry Uses:

The plant is a host for cotton stainer bugs (Dysdercus superstitious and Dysdercus voelkeri), cotton spotted bollworm (Earias fabia) and in Thailand it is also attacked by the leaf-sucker Haedus vicarius[]. It is also a host for the okra mosaic virus[].

Other Uses

A good quality fibre is obtained from the stems[]. Known as 'Aramina fibre', it is fine, lustrous and soft; comparable to jute (Corchorus spp.)[, ]. It is up to a metre in length, very tine and white, very strong, and takes dyes readily[]. It is used for sacking cordage, coarse fabrics, ropes, hammocks etc[, ]. It is said to resist termites and water[]. It can be used to make a good quality paper[].

The seeds are used for making soap[]. (Probably, the oil from the seed is used[].)

The charcoal of the whole plant is used for blackening teeth[].

Propagation

Seed - germination rates and time are much improved if the seed is scarified prior to sowing[].

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