Stem color varies from pure green to deep burgundy. The fiber is derived from the stem. Bast, or bark fibers are composed of phloem bundles and used extensively in cordage. However, pulping processes in the 1950s and 1960s as well as the availability of cheap wood caused interest in kenaf to wane. Of the 12 locations tested, only southern Florida was free of frost late enough in the year to provide viable seed for almost all of the varieties tested.
Most kenaf cultivars are short-day plants.
As a result, much of the seed planted in the United States is produced in Florida, south Texas, the Caribbean, and Latin America. Like its relatives, okra and cotton, kenaf attracts a number of pollinators to its flowers. This means that seed labelled as a single cultivar may contain plants with differing characteristics. Selections from these mixed seed lots and other germplasm has allowed researchers to develop lines that flower and set seed in Mississippi. The kenaf project was initiated in 1989 with the purchase and contract growth of several cultivars of seed for planting in the delta region of Mississippi.