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Hibiscus esculentus (Okra, Gombo, Gumbo, Bindi,
Lady's Fingers) Life
> eukaryotes >
Archaeoplastida >
Chloroplastida
>
Charophyta > Streptophytina > Plantae (land plants)
> Tracheophyta (vascular plants) > Euphyllophyta > Lignophyta (woody plants)
> Spermatophyta (seed plants) > Angiospermae (flowering
plants) > Eudicotyledons > Core Eudicots > Rosids >
Eurosid II > Order: Malvales > Family: Malvaceae > Genus: Hibiscus
The young fruit are eaten as a vegetable. They are very
mucilaginous which gives soups and caseroles a thick consistency. Okra is
tropical in origin but there is uncertainty whether it was domesticated in
Africa or India. It has a long history of cultivation in West Africa, Ethiopia,
Sudan and India. The cultivated varieties appear to be complex polyploid (many
sets of chromosomes) hybrids between species in the Abelmoschus section
of the genus Hibiscus. Modern day cultivation is particularly intense in
India and the southern states of the USA. Needs warm condition in order to grow
successfully.
References
Text by Hamish Robertson |
