Velvetleaf, Abutilon theophrasti – Identification, Uses, Control
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Velvetleaf, Abutilon theophrasti, is a noxious weed in American farm fields, but has a long history of use for food, medicine, and fiber in China and India. It’s also a food source for many types of wildlife. We’ll discuss identification, historical uses, and control of this fuzz covered plant.
Range and Identification of Velvetleaf
Velvetleaf is native to southern Asia and was introduced to North America via India. It grows troughout the United States, and is a noxious weed in several states. The above ground plant parts have a distinctive odor when crushed.
Growth Habit
This wild plant plagues some corn, cotton, and soybean fields. It rambles along roadsides and railways, and in gardens and waste areas.
Abutilon theophrasti is a summer annual with a deep tap root and fibrous root system. It survives as a short lived perennial in zones 8-11. The plants are tall and leggy, covered in soft hairs. It reaches up to 8 feet tall, but most plants are in the 2-4 foot tall range.
Because it is in the same family as cotton, it can act as a host plant for cotton diseases and insect pests. It has allelopathic properties, depressing germination and growth of other plants.
Leaves
Leaves are alternate, becoming larger towards the top of the plant. The large leaves reduce light penetration to surrounding plants. This leaf is about half as big as I’ve seen them get – they can reach near dinner plate size.
The heart shaped leaves are soft and velvety to the touch. In a pinch, the soft leaves work as a toilet paper substitute. (Be careful – some people get an allergic skin reaction from the plant.)
Flowers
The flowers are small, yellow, and rather inconspicuous. Each yellow to yellow orange flower has 5 petals and is 1/2 to 1 inch in diameter. They grow on the stalk where the leaf stalk meets the stem.
The flowers open in the morning and close later in the day.
Seed Production
With up to 17,000 seeds per plant, velvetleaf is quite prolific. The seeds can remain viable in the soil for over 50 years, creating a formidable seed bank.
The seed heads are quite lovely. They are about an inch across, with 12 to 15 woody segments. The seeds release through vertical slits on the outside of the seed pods.
The seeds themselves are small, dark and heart shaped – and very tough. They are roughly 1/8″ across.
www.wssa.net explains why many farmers hate this plant and now consider it a noxious weed.
Velvetleaf seeds have tough seed coats which protect them against digestion by farm animals. In fact, experimental germination of velvetleaf seed requires scarification with 1 M sulfuric acid for 15 min or boiling for 1 min (9).
Seeds can remain viable for 50 years when stored in the soil (12); one researcher reported 43% germination after 39 yr of burial (11). The seeds and seed coats also have chemicals and microbial agents which inhibit growth of bacteria and fungi.
Velvetleaf Uses
Like many wild plants, velvetleaf was valued before it was scorned.
Fiber
Velvetleaf originated in either China or India. Its use as a fiber crop in China dates to 2000 B.C. or earlier. It is still grown there for fiber, which is used to make ropes, coarse cloth, nets, paper and caulk for boats.
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Whether as foreign material in crop seed or as an intended fiber crop, velvetleaf arrived in North America probably before 1700, and became widespread along the East Coast by the early 1700s.
Because the colonies desperately needed fiber for rope and cloth, velvetleaf was widely cultivated in the mid-1700s. Although attempts to process velvetleaf fiber never succeeded economically, U. S. farmers continued to cultivate it for more than 100 years.
Wildlife Food
Mourning doves, quail, insects, and rodents eat the abundant seeds. The nectar and pollen of the flowers attract various kinds of bees, including bumblebees, leaf-cutting bees, miner bees, and Halictid bees.
Checkered Skipper caterpillars make folded-leaf nests. The native scentless plant bug (Rhopalidae) Niesthrea louisianica, feeds on the floral buds, flowers, and seeds. Releases of this bug for biological control resulted in a significant reduction in seed viability.
Is Velvetleaf Edible?
The seeds are edible. They have a slightly nutty flavor, and are easier to chew than sunflower seeds. Under ripe seeds can be eaten raw. Ripe seed is rinsed, dried, ground, and used in recipes.
Velvetleaf Medicinal Uses
Historically, medicinal use of Abutilon theophrasti included treatment of:
- chest infections
- urethritis
- toothache
- hemorrhoids
- gonorrhea
- hemorrhaging
Also it works as anthelmintic, laxative, demulcent and diuretic. Extracts from the plant show potential for sunblock, antimicrobial, and antioxidant use.
How to Get Rid of Velvetleaf
As long time readers know, specific weeds appear when soil conditions favor their growth. Each year, the wild (and not so wild) areas of our land change a bit. The seeds are always there waiting. It’s up to us to create conditions that favor the plants we want to grow.
The soil conditions that trigger velvetleaf growth include*:
- Very low available calcium
- Very low phosphorous
- Very high potassium
- Very high magnesium
- High manganese
- High iron
- High sulfur
- High copper
- high boron
- high chlorine
- Very high selenium
- Low humus
- Low porosity
- Anaerobic bacteria dominates
- High moisture
- High salt buildup
- Sticky soil
- High aluminum
*List adapted from the book, “When Weeds Talk”.
If you look at the list, you can see that soils where this plant dominate are out of balance. We need to work on adding organic matter and improving aeration. Bone meal is a good addition for calcium and phosphorous.
For more information on a holistic approach to managing weeds, see “Get Rid of Your Toughest Weeds Permanently“.
Other Names
Other common names of Abutilon theophrasti include China Jute, Buttonweed, Butterprint , Indian Mallow, Piemarker, Wild Cotton, abutilon, elephant ears, cottonweed, abutilon hemp, Manchurian jute, and American jute.
The Weekly Weeder Series
This article is part of the Weekly Weeder series, which shares how to use wild plants for food, medicine, and more.
Other popular articles in the series include:
- My Favorite Foraging Books
- Autumn Olive – Uses, Control, and Recipes
- Goldenrod – Growing, Foraging, Uses, & Control
This article is written by Laurie Neverman. Laurie was raised on a small dairy farm in northwest Wisconsin, where she gathered wildflowers from the woods and pastures. She and her family now live in northeast Wisconsin, where they combine intentional plantings and semi-wild areas. Every season is a new opportunity to learn more about working with wild plants.
Originally posted in 2012, last updated in 2024.