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The genus ''Corchorus'' comprises an uncertain number of species, with estimates ranging from 40–100. Two important cultivar-groups of ''Corchorus olitorius'' exist. The vegetable types are combined in Olitorius Group, characterized by a plant height lower than 2 m, often not more than 1 m, and a more or less heavily branched plant habit. The fibre types are classified in Textilis Group, with plant heights of 4(–5) m and plants only slightly branched at the top. Within Olitorius Group, there are numerous local cultivars, e.g. early and late flowering, and with differences in plant habit and leaf shape. In Nigeria, the popular ‘Amugbadu’ is reputed to be suitable for transplanting and harvest by repeated cuttings; it has finely serrate, elliptical-ovate leaves, whereas ‘Oniyaya’ has smaller and coarsely serrate leaves, is strongly branched and more suitable for direct sowing and once-over harvest. ‘Géant de Bertoua’ from Cameroon has very large, broadly ovate leaf blades. Cultivars with deeply and irregularly serrate leaves (‘Incisifolius’) can be found in Benin and Cameroon.

''[[Corchorus capsularis]]'' (‘white jute’), an erect annual herb up to 2(–4) m tall with globose fruits, probably originates in southern China and was brought from there to India and Bangladesh where, till today, its production is centred. In the late 18<font size="1">^th</font> and early 19<font size="1">^th</font> century the crop was brought to many other tropical countries, but only in Brazil has the introduction been successful. Trials have been done in Gambia, Sierra Leone, Ghana, Nigeria, Sudan, Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania and Malawi. The failure of the crop in other countries than Brazil has been attributed to a wrong choice of cultivars and labour constraints. A new attempt to introduce ''Corchorus capsularis'' as a crop into tropical Africa would require considerable investment in facilities for post-harvest handling (e.g. ribboning, retting, washing), as without these, the production is unlikely to be economical. The fibre of ''Corchorus capsularis'' is less fine, soft and lustrous than that of ''Corchorus olitorius''. The former is usually whitish, whereas the latter is yellowish to reddish.