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Chaya is a large leafy shrub reaching a height of about 6 to 8 feet. It somewhat resembles a vigorous hibiscus plant or the cassava plant. The dark green leaves are alternate, simple, slick surfaced with some hairs, and palmately lobed (much like the leaves of okra). Each leaf is 6 to 8 inches across and is borne on a long slender petiole (leaf stem). Where the leaf stem connects to the leaf, the leaf veins are fleshy and cuplike.

Chaya blooms frequently, and both male and female flowers are borne together at the end of long flower stems. Both kinds of flowers are small, less than 10 mm long. The white male flowers are much more abundant. In the fall trials at Gainesville, FL, seed pods about 1-inch wide and the size of walnuts were produced. These were similar to those on cassava.

1. This document is HS578, one of a series of the Horticultural Sciences Department, UF/IFAS Extension. Original publication date May 1994. Revised August 2015. Visit the EDIS website at http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu.

2. James M. Stephens, professor emeritus, Horticultural Sciences Department; UF/IFAS Extension, Gainesville, FL 32611.