This tall alien annual weed was present in Ky. early after settlement (Short et al. 1833; M), and it soon became a common weed in cultivated ground (Gm). The species was introduced to North America during ca. 1700-1750 as a potential crop for production of fibre (Spencer 1984). There has also been ancient medicinal and culinary use of leaves and seeds in Eurasia (Medović & Horváth 2012). [The important fibre-producing plants in the genus Corchorus, known as "jute", belong in a different subfamily of the Malvaceae: Grewioideae. Al members of the family in Ky. belong in subfamily Malvoideae.]