Abelmoschus esculentus (L.) Moench
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Latin Name: Abelmoschus esculentus (L.) Moench
Family: Malvaceae; Abelmoschus: Genus
Synonym Name: Abelmoschus bammia Webb; Abelmoschus longifolius (Willd.) Kostel.; Abelmoschus officinalis (DC.) Endl.; Abelmoschus praecox Sickenb.; Abelmoschus tuberculatus Pal & Singh; Abelmoschus tuberculatus var. deltoidefolius T.K.Paul & M.P.Nayar; Hibiscus esculentus L.; Hibiscus esculentus var. praecox (Forssk.) A.Chev.
Hibiscus esculentus var. textilis A.Chev.; Hibiscus ficifolius Mill.; Hibiscus hispidissimus A.Chev.; Hibiscus longifolius Willd.; Hibiscus praecox Forssk.
English Name: Okra, Edible Abelmoschus, Gobo, Gumbo, Gombo, Lady’s-finger, lady’s finger Okra
Vietnamese name: Mướp tây, Bụp bắp, Đậu bắp, Bông vàng
Description: Annual herbs, 1-2m tall. Stem cylindrical with a few sparse prickles. Leaves alternate; petioles 7-15cm long, long bristles; stipules linear, 7-10mm long, and sparsely covered with bristles. Leaves palmate with 3-7 lobes, 10-30cm in diameter, lobes are wide to narrow, sparsely covered with bristles on both sides, margin has coarse serrations and notches. Flowers solitary at the axil, pedicels 1-2cm long, sparse and coarse bristles; calyx campanulate, longer than bracteoles, and densely star-shaped with short hairs; flowers yellow while base purple inside, 5-7cm in diameter, petals obovate, 4-5cm long. Capsule tubular and spire-shaped, 10-25cm long, 1.5-2cm in diameter, apex has long beak, covered with sparse and coarse bristles; seeds spherical and numerous, 4-5mm in diameter, with hairy veins. Flowering: May to September.
Cultivation Details
Okra is well adapted to growing in the lowland humid tropics. It prefers a temperature in the range 20 - 30°c. The plant is tolerant of a wide range of rainfall.
Prefers a well-drained humus rich fertile soil in full sun and a pH around 6 to 6.7 but it tolerates a wide range of soil types and pH from 5.5 to 8. It prefers a soil with a high potash content. The plant requires a warm sunny position sheltered from winds. It likes plenty of moisture, both in the soil and in the atmosphere.
Most cultivars require about 4 months from sowing before a crop is produced, though some early maturing varieties can produce a crop in 50 days in the tropics. By constant harvesting, it is possible to keep the plant productive for several months. By cutting the plant back after harvest, it is possible to obtain 2 - 3 crops from each plant.
A yield of 2 - 3 tonnes per hectare can be obtained. Intensive growing systems have produced much higher yields of 10 tonnes per hectare, occasionally as high as 40 tonnes.
There are many named varieties.
Okra is a short-day plant, but its wide geographical distribution (up to latitudes of 35 - 40°) indicates that cultivars differ markedly in sensitivity. Flower initiation and flowering are hardly affected by daylength in popular subtropical cultivars such as 'Clemson Spineless' and 'Pusa Sawani. Most tropical cultivars show quantitative short-day responses, but qualitative responses also occur. The shortest critical daylength reported is 12 hours 30 minutes.
Fruits should be harvested when 7 - 8 days old. Earlier picking depresses yields because of low fruit weight, but delayed picking depresses marketable yields because over-aged fruits become fibrous.
Plants resent being transplanted
Chemistry: The dried seed of okra has been found to be a good source of protein, fat, and, recently, antioxidant activity. Okra is generally used as a nutritional supplement, containing vitamins C and A, B complex vitamins, and iron and calcium. It is good for people suffering from renal colic, leukorrhea, and general weakness.
Pharmacology: antioxidant activity
Part Used: Medical part: roots, leaves, flowers or seeds.
Harvest & Processing: Roots: excavated in November to Feb of the next year, removed soil, sun-dried or fire-dried. Leaves: harvested in Sept. to Oct and sun-dried. Flowers: harvested in June to April, and sun-dried. Seeds: harvested when fruits mature in Sept. to Oct, threshed, and sun-dried.
Properties & Actions: Tasteless, cold. Benefiting pharynx, treating stranguria, lactogenesis and regulating menstruation.
Indications & Usage: Swelling of throat, drenching and infrequent urination, insufficient milk post partum, irregular menstrual periods. Oral administration: decocting, 9-15g.
Edible Uses
Immature fruit - cooked on their own or added to soups. They can be used fresh or dried. A mucilaginous texture, they are commonly used as a thickening for soups, stews and sauces. The fruits are rich in pectin and are also a fair source of iron and calcium[240]. The fresh fruits contain 740 iu vitamin A. The fruit should be harvested whilst young, older fruits soon become fibrous. The fruit can be up to 20cm long.
Seed - cooked or ground into a meal and used in making bread or made into 'tofu' or 'tempeh'. The seed contains about 20% protein and 20% oil.
The roasted seed is a coffee substitute. Probably the best of the coffee substitutes.
The seed contains up to 22% of an edible oil.
The leaves, flower buds, flowers and calyces can be eaten cooked as greens. An agreeable sour flavour. The leaves can be dried, crushed into a powder and stored for later use. They are also used as a flavouring.
References
Chinese Medicinal Material Images Database
efloras.org
Theplantlist
- Adelakun OE1, Oyelade OJ, Ade-Omowaye BI, Adeyemi IA, Van de Venter M.; Chemical composition and the antioxidative properties of Nigerian Okra Seed (Abelmoschus esculentus Moench) Flour.; Food Chem Toxicol. 2009 Jun; 47(6):1123-6.
- Oluyemisi Elizabeth, Adelakun, Olusegun James, Oyelade; Chapter 99 - Chemical and Antioxidant Properties of Okra (Abelmoschus esculentus Moench) Seed; Nuts and Seeds in Health and Disease Prevention 2011, Pages 841-846
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