In Vietnamese cooking the tender leaves at the tips are cooked with luffa and shrimp as a soup. It thickens the soup in the same way Malabar spinach and okra can. Older leaves tend to be fibrous and thus inedible. I assume the jute fibers come from cultivars that favor the tougher plants whereas the edible jute have been selected for the more tender features.

If it's any help, it's also known as Melokheya (or Malukhia) and Jew's Mallow. It's been a popular item here recently because it was featured on a cooking segment on some home improvement show. The dried leaves are also used as soup thickener. Apparently it's a popular vegetable across North Africa.

Thanks, Otcay and Raymondo! I have some growing from seeds that my coworker gave me last spring. They're very good in soup! I'll save the seeds for next year.

Where can I buy the Saluyot or Jute leaves in Ca or somewhere on-line please let me know thanks