Family: Malvaceae
Common name: Chocolate weed, Redweed, Wirebush, Corchous mallow, Bundahia, Bundava, Nirunen, Cheruvuram
Chocolate weed is a herbaceous weed commonly seen in backyards, open areas, and undisturbed land. This fast-growing plant can produce an abundance of pink or white flowers, surpassing the beauty of any ornamental plant
Plant characteristics
Chocolate weeds have slender green stems that are heavily branched and also covered in fine hairs. They grow to a height of 2-3 meters under optimal growing conditions, but can also spread horizontally in no time.
The leaves are lance-shaped, about 10-12 cm long, slightly lobed with a serrated and wavy margin.
Chocolate weed leaves can be smooth or have small white hairs along the margins, especially on the lower surface of the leaf. These leaves are dark green, growing very thickly on the stem, making the plant bushy and rounded.
Flowers are very delicate, pretty, and eye-catching, when they bloom in hundreds on the plant. Small funnel-shaped flowers are light pink or white in color, with a yellow throat that displays the stamens.
Chocolate weed flowers are 5-7 mm long with five distinct petals that are very delicate, each 2-4 mm long. Flowers grow on the tip of the branches and hence look like a bouquet of pink and green.
The flowering period is from October to January, a feast for pollinators that are attracted by the abundant blooms.
The fruits of Chocolate weed are small rounded capsules about 1-2 mm long, slightly pointed at the tip and rounded at the base like a garlic bulb.
These fruits are divided into compartments or locules, each containing a small black or dark brown seed. These fruits and seeds are consumed by birds and other small animals.
Growing tips
Though Chocolate weeds produce an abundance of charming little flowers, they are not generally grown in gardens because of their fast-growing, invasive nature. These plants need good sunlight for most part of the day, though they can grow in partial shade of larger trees like plantain.
I photographed it in a banana plantation with good filtered sunlight falling on the Chocolate weed plants. They are tolerant of drought and poor soil conditions, thriving and growing well regardless of soil nutrition.
Since they are weeds, they do not need pruning, fertilization, or any special care. They are mostly pest-resistant, though the tender leaves and buds can sometimes be infested.
Uses of Chocolate weed
Leaves of the Chocolate weed were eaten cooked or as a potherb in olden times. Parts of the plant were used in the treatment of sores, vomiting, and urinary disorders, also as an antidote for snake bites and arrow poisoning.
Fiber obtained from the stem of the Chocolate weed is quite strong, used for making ropes for tying bundles of grass or agricultural produce. Leaves of the chocolate weed have some insecticidal properties.
In addition to providing nectar for insects, and food for birds and small animals in the form of their fruits, Chocolate weed plants also provide protection for them since their spreading branches act as good hiding places.
Since their fibrous roots spread quickly, producing more stems and a thick, bushy plant, they can protect the valuable topsoil from washing away in the rain.
Chocolate weeds can be grown in gardens in flower beds or as border plants since they grow and produce flowers very quickly.
Propagation
Propagation is through seeds and stem cuttings.
The plants are capable of self-seeding, producing numerous small plants, from the seeds that fall around the plant and germinate. Seeds collected from mature fruits can be dried and sowed in the soil to germinate.
Cuttings taken from semi-hardwood stems can be planted in the soil after dipping their ends in a rooting hormone.
Photographed at: Thrissur, Kerala
