Corchorus fascicularis Lam.

Global description

Corchorus fascicularis is a small upright shrub, sublignose, with simple leaves, alternate, petiolate and stipulated. The blade is lanceolate, with a top broadly cuneate, with rounded base and toothed margin. It is hairless. The flowers are assembled in axillary fascicles. The flowers are small, yellow, with sepals and petals free and including many stamens. The fruit is a fusiform capsule finely pubescent, opening in 3 valves and containing many seeds.

Cotyledons

The cotyledons are ovate to orbicular. They are borne by a petiole 5 mm long. The blade is 7 mm long and 5 mm wide. The summit of the limb is rounded or truncated.

First leaves

The first leaves are simple and alternate. They are stalked and framed by short stipules. The blade is elliptical lanceolate, 1 to 3 cm long and 6 to 10 mm wide. It is marked with 3 to 5 pairs of secondary veins, depressed on the upper face. The margin is toothed. The stem and leaves are hairless.

General habit

Corchorus fascicularis is a thickly erect branched bush. It measures up to 1.2 m in height.

Underground system

The root is pivoting. It is deep and firmly anchored.

Stem

The stem is cylindrical and solid. It rapidly becomes woody. It is glabrous.

Leaf

The leaves are simple and alternate. They are borne by a petiole 4-10 mm long. The petiole is glabrous to very finely pubescent, framed at the base by two linear stipules, 2 mm long. The blade is lanceolate, with a top in broad corner and a rounded base. It is 3 to 7 cm long and 5 to 15 mm wide. The margin is toothed. The blade is thick, dark green in color with 4-8 pairs of secondary veins, depressed on the upper side. Both sides are glabrous. The underside is marked by a fine network of small ribs in relief.

Inflorescence

The flowers are assembled in fascicles from 3 to 8, at the axil of the leaves.

Flower

The flowers are borne by a short peduncle of 1 mm. The calyx is composed of 5 free sepals, linear in shape, with apiculated apex. They are 1.5 mm long. The corolla is composed of 5 free petals with a rounded top and a narrow base, 2 mm long. The corolla is yellow in color. Stamens are very numerous. The ovary is oblong, surmounted by a short style.

Fruit

The fruit is a dehiscent capsule, fusiform, with 3 valves. The capsules are 10 to 15 mm long and have a very short bill at the top. The tegument is finely pubescent. Each capsule contains a large number of seeds.

Seed

The seeds are of polyhedral form. They are 2 mm long and 1 mm in diameter. The tegument is smooth and black in color.

 

https://www.gbif.org/species/4260572