68 



ABUTILON, Gaertn. 



Abutilon asiaticum, Don ; Fl. Trop. Afr. I. p. 184. 



III. — Cav. Diss. t. 128, f. 1 (Sida asiatica). 



Country Mallow. 



Niger. 



The stem contains a good fibre suitable for cordage (Cross, 

 Bevan and King, Rep. Ind. Fib. p. 34). 



See A. indicum, for particulars also applicable in this case. 



Abutilon indicum, Don ; Fl. Trop. Afr. I. p. 186. 



III.— Wight, Ic. PL Ind, or. i. t. 12. 



Country Mallow. 



Niger ; Abeokuta. 



The fibre is considered good for cordage ; equal to Chinese Jute 

 (Abutilon Avlcennae) ; superior to Indian Jute (Gorchorus capsu- 

 laris) ; and finer than Manila Hemp (Musa textilis) (Diet. Econ. 

 Prod. Ind.). Its preparation could doubtless be accomplished in 

 the same way as Chinese Jute above mentioned. The method 

 is, in brief, as follows : — The bundles of stems, tied loosely at the 

 tips, are placed upright in standing water, the root half only, 

 being submerged, for two days ; the bundles are afterwards com- 

 pletely submerged. When the bark is sufficiently retted, which 

 may be in four or five days, it is stripped off, washed in clean 

 water, and the fibre spread out in the sun to dry (Kew. Bull. Add. 

 Ser. ii. p. 267). 



In India a mucilaginous extract from the leaves is used as a 

 demulcent ; an infusion of the roots is used in fevers as a cooling 

 remedy, and said also to be useful in the treatment of leprosy ; 

 the seeds are used as a cough remedy, and the bark as a diuretic 

 (Diet. Econ. Prod. Ind.). Various other medicinal uses have 

 been attributed to the plant. 



Under cultivation the plant may be regarded as an annual, and 

 would probably come to maturity in from four to five months. 

 The seeds may be sown broadcast, or several together at intervals 

 of about 9 inches to a foot ; the seedlings eventually should 

 be thinned out to about 1 foot apart. The soil requires to be 

 rich and in good tilth. 



Urbna, Linn. 

 Urena lobata, Linn. ; Fl. Trop. Afr. I. p. 189. 



III.— C-&V. Diss, t, 185, f. 1 ; Lam. Encycl. t. 583 (Urena) f. 1 ; 

 St. Hil. PL us. Bros. t. 56 : Desc. Ant. iv. t, 271 ; Bot, Mag. t, 3043 ; 

 U.S. Dept. Agric. Fiber Investigations, Rep. 6, 1894, t. 2. 



Vernac. names. — Ake-iri (Yoruba, Millsori) ; Bubo-bubo 

 (Gambia, Lester) ; Toja (Lagos, Moloney) ; Horse Whip (Sierra 

 Leone, Cole) ; Guaxima or Uaixyma, Aramina, Carrapicho 

 (Brazil) ; Banochra (India) ; Caesar Weed (Florida). 



Yoruba ; Widely distributed in the Tropical and Sub-tropical 

 regions of both hemispheres. 



