Corchorus siliquosus

Corchorus siliquosus L.

Common Names: Slippery Dick, Slippery Burr

Family: Malvaceae

Habit: Corchorus siliquosus grows as a small shrub to 2 m in height.  The leaves are arranged alternately to 4 cm in length and 1.5 cm, ovate with a crenate leaf margin and acute leaf apex. All vegetative material is glabrous.

The complete, perfect, actinomorphic flowers are arranged in umbels arising from nodes. The calyx has 5 unfused, greenish sepals. The corolla has 5 unfused, bright yellow petals.  There are numerous stamens.  The ovary is superior with 5 locules and numerous seeds.  The fruit is an elongate capsule to 8 cm in length and 2 mm wide.

Habitat: Corchorus siliquosus grows in Human Altered environments such as abandoned fields and roadsides. It also grows on the edges of Dry Broadleaf Evergreen Formation – Shrublands  (scrublands) and Sabal palmetto Woodlands.

Distribution: Corchorus siliquosus occurs on all island groupings in the Lucayan Archipelago as well as the southern United States, the entire Caribbean region and all new world tropical and subtropical areas.

Medicinal/Cultural/Economic usage: Corchorus siliquosus is not known to be used medicinally in the Lucayan Archipelago.