Pat / Tossa Jute
Corchorus olitorius
Also known as Jew's Mallow, Nalta Jute
- Habit
- Undershrub
- Found in India
- Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Gujarat & more
- Flowering
- July-January
How to identify Pat
Identify Pat by combining habit, leaf characters, flower or fruit details, location, and its family pattern. Do not rely on one feature alone.
- Look for a undershrub habit.
- Check the distinctive field mark: Cultivated for fiber and as a leaf vegetable (tossa jute).
- Confirm leaf arrangement: Alternate.
- Confirm leaf margin: Toothed.
- Confirm flower colour: Yellow.
- In season, compare flowering and fruiting time: July-January.
- In India, compare location records such as Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Gujarat, Uttarakhand and nearby regions.
Plant Details
- Scientific name
- Corchorus olitorius
- Genus
- Corchorus
- Family
- Tiliaceae
- Habit
- Undershrub
- Habitat
- Weed of cultivated fields
- Habitat type
- Cultivated, Wasteland
- Native to
- Tropics
- Distribution
- Pantropical
- Found in India
- Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Gujarat, Uttarakhand, Telangana, Delhi, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal, Andhra Pradesh, Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Chhattisgarh, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu & Kashmir, Punjab
- Flowering & fruiting
- July-January
- Conservation status
- Not Evaluated (NE)
Leaf characters
- Leaf arrangement
- AlternaterecordedOne leaf per node, arranged in a spiral or zigzag up the stem.“The serrate acute leaves alternate, are 6 to 10 centimetres (2+1⁄4 to 4 in) long and 2 to 4 cm wide.” — Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0
- Leaf margin
- ToothedrecordedA saw-like or jagged edge (serrate or dentate).“The serrate acute leaves alternate, are 6 to 10 centimetres (2+1⁄4 to 4 in) long and 2 to 4 cm wide.” — Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0
Typical of the family
Characters marked “recorded” are for Pat itself; the rest are typical of the Tiliaceae family.
Flower & fruit characters
- Flower colour
- Yellowrecorded
Typical of the family
- Flower symmetry
- Actinomorphic (radially symmetrical)
- Inflorescence
- Cyme
- Fruit
- Capsule
Characters marked “recorded” are for Pat itself; the rest are typical of the Tiliaceae family — flowering plants only.
Local Names
- Hindi
- पाट Pat, पाट साग Pat-sag, Mithapat
- Bengali
- ভুংগীপাট Bhungipat, তোষা পাট
- Tamil
- Punaku, Peratti, பிண்ணாக்கு கீரை
- Telugu
- Parinta
- Marathi
- मोटीछूंछ Motichhunchh, बनपात Banpat
About Pat
Tossa Jute (Corchorus olitorius) is a low shrub in the Tiliaceae family. In India it has been recorded in Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Gujarat and 14 other states. It grows in weed of cultivated fields. Flowering and fruiting run from July to January.
Uses
It is grown for parts that are eaten, long used in traditional medicine and stripped for fibre used in rope and matting. Those medicinal uses are traditional attributions, not medical advice.
Tiliaceae
Lime tree/Jute family
Pat belongs to the Tiliaceae family.
The illustration represents the family — not necessarily this exact species.
Explore the Tiliaceae familySnap it. Know it.
Point your camera at Pat or any plant and SASYA identifies it instantly — on-device, offline, and private.
Common plant problems
If you are starting from symptoms instead of a diagnosis, use the plant disease symptom checker to narrow the cause before treating.
All plant problem & care guides