Deccan Hemp (Hibiscus cannabinus)

March 10, 2008 — Vasant M. Salian

Deccan Hemp (Hibiscus cannabinus), also known as Kenaf, is a species of Hibiscus, probably native to southern Asia, though its exact natural origin is unknown. The name also applies to the fibre obtained from this plant. Kenaf is one of the allied fibres of jute and shows similar characteristics. It is an annual or biennial herbaceous plant (rarely a short-lived perennial) growing to 1.5-3.5 m tall with a woody base. The stems are 1-2 cm diameter, often but not always branched. The leaves are 10-15 cm long, variable in shape, with leaves near the base of the stems being deeply lobed with 3-7 lobes, while leaves near the top of the stem are shallowly lobed or unlobed lanceolate. The flowers are 8-15 cm diameter, white, yellow, or purple; when white or yellow, the centre is still dark purple. The fruit is a capsule 2 cm diameter, containing several seeds.

The leaves are cooked and eaten in Manipur, and are called sougri. Kenaf seeds yield a vegetable oil that is edible and high in omega antioxidants. The kenaf oil is also used for cosmetics, industrial lubricants and as bio-fuel.

Deccan Hemp (Image Courtesy of Daniel)Taxonomy:

Kingdom : Plantae
Division : Magnoliophyta
Class : Magnoliopsida
Order : Malvales
Family : Malvaceae
Genus : Hibiscus
Species : Hibiscus cannabinus

Pronunciation/Meaning:

  • Malvaceae (mal-VAY-see-ay) - The Malva (mallow) family.
  • Hibiscus (hi-BIS-kus) - The ancient Greek and Latin name for a mallow-like plant.
  • cannabinus (kan-na-BIN-us) - Hemp-like.

Common Names:

  • Deccan Hemp, Kenaf, Brown Indian Hemp (English)
  • Machika, Maryurika, Ambika, Sahasravatamulika (Sanskrit)
  • Patsan, San (Hindi)
  • Ambari (Marathi)
  • Palungu, Pulimanji (Tamil)
  • Kanjaru (Malayalam)
  • Dirin da rani (Kannada)
  • Pimdikura, Gonkura (Telugu)
  • Sougri (Manipuri)
  • Patsan, Ambari (Bengali)
  • Kanuriya (Oriya)
  • Ambadi (Konkani)
  • Sheria (Gujarati)

Links:

Image Courtesy of Daniel.

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