Abelmoschus esculentus
(L.) Moench.
Okra, Lady’s fingers
(c) kruSine, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), uploaded by kruSine
(c) josefwirth, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), uploaded by josefwirth
(c) J. Richard Abbott, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), uploaded by J. Richard Abbott
What to Eat
Edible parts: Pods, Flowers, Seeds, Seeds - coffee, Leaves, Vegetable
Okra produces several edible parts. The immature fruit is the most commonly used — harvested young (older fruits quickly become fibrous), it can be cooked on its own or added to soups and stews. The fruit grows up to 20cm long, is rich in pectin, and provides a fair source of iron and calcium; fresh fruits contain 740 IU of vitamin A. Its mucilaginous texture makes it an excellent natural thickener for soups, stews, and sauces, and it can be used fresh or dried. Seeds can be cooked, ground into a meal for bread-making, or processed into tofu or tempeh. Roasted seeds make probably the best of the common coffee substitutes, and the seed contains up to 22% edible oil. The leaves, flower buds, flowers, and calyces are all edible when cooked as greens; leaves can also be dried, powdered, and stored for use as a flavouring. The root is edible but highly fibrous and mucilaginous, with little flavour.
Known Hazards
Where to Find It
A tropical plant. It suits the hot humid tropical lowlands but is unsuited to the highlands. It cannot tolerate drought. It is very sensitive to frost. It can grow in salty soils. They grow best where temperatures are between 20-36°C. It can grow well in dry climates with irrigation. It suits hot humid environments. It does best on well drained well manured soils but will grow on many soils. A pH or 5.5-7.0 is best. It suits plant hardiness zones 8-12. In Yunnan.
Africa, Albania, Amazon, Angola, Antigua and Barbuda, Armenia, Asia, Australia, Austria, Balkans, Bangladesh, Belize, Benin, Brazil, Bulgaria, Burkina Faso, Cambodia, Cameroon, Cape Verde, Caucasus, Central Africa, Central African Republic, CAR, Central America, Central Asia, China, Christmas Island, Colombia, Congo DR, Cook Islands, Costa Rica, Cuba, Dominican Republic, East Africa, East Timor, Egypt, Ethiopia*, Europe, Fiji, FSM, Gabon, Ghana, Greece, Grenada, Guam, Guinea-Bissau, Guyana, Haiti, Hawaii, Himalayas, India, Indochina, Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, Israel, Kazakhstan, Laos, Macedonia, Madagascar, Malawi, Malaysia, Mali, Mediterranean, Mexico, Middle East, Moldova, Mozambique, Myanmar, Nauru, Nepal, Nicaragua, Niger, Nigeria, Niue, North Africa, North America, Northeastern India, Oman, Pacific, Pakistan, Palestine, Panama, Papua New Guinea, PNG, Philippines, Pohnpei, Portugal, Romania, Rotuma, Sao Tome and Principe, SE Asia, Senegal, Serbia, Sierra Leone, Sikkim, Singapore, Slovenia, Solomon Islands, Somalia, South Africa, Southern Africa, South America, South Sudan, Spain, Sri Lanka, Sudan, Swaziland, Eswatini, Switzerland, Syria, Taiwan, Tanzania, Thailand, Timor-Leste, Tonga, Trinidad, Turkey, Tuvalu, Uganda, Ukraine, USA, Uzbekistan, Vietnam, Venezuela, West Africa, West Indies, Zambia, Zimbabwe,
How to Identify
A shrub or small tree. It grows 5 m tall. There are prickles along the stem. The leaves are twice divided and there are 8-18 pairs of pinnae. There are up to 50 pairs of pinnules on each pinnae. The flowers are yellow. They are in large clusters at the ends of branches. The pods are flattened.
How to Grow
They are grown from seeds. Seeds are easy to collect. They need high temperatures for germination (over 20°C) and a sunny position. Often seeds are soaked for 24 hours before sowing to give quick germination. Seeds are sown 1.5-2.5 cm deep with 2-3 seeds per hole. Later these are thinned out to one plant. Seeds can be sown in nurseries and plants transplanted. Pinching out the tops of plants when 30 cm high encourages branching. To select seed of a particular variety seed plants must be separated 400 m from other varieties. A spacing of about 90 x 45 cm is suitable. About 8-10 kg of seed are required for one hectare. Most kinds respond to fertiliser. Seeds do not breed true and can cross with other kinds of okra growing nearby. This is not normally a problem but simply means plants and fruit are not all the same.
Propagation: Sow seed in early spring in a warm greenhouse. Germination takes 27 days at 15°C or just 6 days at 35°C. Prick seedlings out into individual pots once large enough to handle, and plant out after the last expected frosts.
Medicinal Uses
The roots are exceptionally rich in mucilage and have a strongly demulcent action, considered by some to surpass marsh mallow (Althaea officinalis) in this regard. This mucilage can serve as a plasma replacement. A root infusion is used in treating syphilis, and the root juice is applied externally in Nepal to cuts, wounds, and boils. The leaves provide an emollient poultice. A decoction of the immature capsules is demulcent, diuretic, and emollient, used in treating catarrhal infections, ardor urinae, dysuria, and gonorrhoea. The seeds are antispasmodic, cordial, and stimulant, and an infusion of roasted seeds has sudorific properties.
Other Uses
A fibre extracted from the stems serves as a jute substitute and is also used in paper and textile production; individual fibres measure about 2.4mm long. For paper-making, stems are harvested in late summer or autumn after the seedpods have been collected — leaves are removed, stems steamed to loosen the fibres, which are then cooked for 2 hours with lye and processed in a ball mill for 3 hours, producing a cream-coloured paper. A decoction of the roots or seeds is used as a paper size. The plant is also noted for carbon farming applications.
Wikipedia
Source ↗Annual plant reaching 1 m tall, frost tender and hardy to UK zone 8. Flowers July to September. Hermaphrodite flowers pollinated by bees. Grows in light sandy, medium loamy, and heavy clay soils with good drainage. Tolerates mildly acid to basic pH, including very alkaline soils. Requires full sun and prefers moist conditions.
Production
Plants keep producing if the fruits are harvested regularly. Plants are ready to harvest 8-10 weeks after sowing. Seed yields of 500-800 kg per hectare are recorded. Pod yields of 4-6 tons per hectare occur. For young pods it takes 2-4 months from sowing. Pods develop 5-10 days after flowering. Pod harvests can continue for 1-2 months. Leaving pods on the plants stops new pods developing.
Other Information
An introduced vegetable grown in a few lowland areas of Papua New Guinea but not yet common. It is an important vegetable in Asia and West Africa. It is a commercially cultivated vegetable.
Notes
There are about 15 Abelmoschus species. They are tropical and subtropical. It is rich in folates. Fruit are high in folates 109μg/100.
Names & Synonyms
A-koto, Angu, Apala, Asowntem, Baamiye, Baamya, Bakhua-mun, Bamia, Bami, Bamya, Bandakka, Bendi, Bhenday, Bhindee, Bhindi, Binda, Bindi, Bitantan, Bondo, Bup bap, Cantarela, Chimbombo, Dau bap, Delele, Delelemukhwayo, Derere muchango, Derere rechipudzi, Derere, Derosh, Dheras, Dherosh, Dongo dongo, Enmomi, Fetri, Gombaut, Gombo, Gumbo, Guro, Gusha, Hakuyot, Idelele, Ikhievbo, Ila, Ilasha, Ilo, Jedilni oslez, Ka fei huang kui, Kacang bendi, Kaganh lender, Kandia, Kandjie, Kataramas, Kiabo, Kingombo, Kopi arab, Krachiap-mon, Kubewa, Kugay, Lafeu, Lieka, Loka, Maana, Maatou, Ma-lontho, Mandande, Mesta, Molenda, Muomi, Miagorro, Naju, Nathando, Nkruma, Obori, Ochro, Okworu, Okwulu, Okwuru, Otigo-iwoka, Pahari bendi, Pingpesi, Poot barang, Pui, Quiabo, Quimbambo, Quimbobo, Saluyot a bunga, Sayur bendi, Taku, Tinoufanti, Tinoussante, Tsirandranjaza, Uisul hme, Vandakai, Vandikkai, Vendal, Wayika, Yonbade, You-padi
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