Okra (Abelmoschus esculentus)

Okra (Abelmoschus esculentus) is a plant species in the Malvaceae family. It is a robust, erect annual herb that can reach a height of up to 4 meters. The plant is highly branched, with terete (cylindrical) stems covered in scattered, stiff hairs—which may eventually fall off—and often marked with reddish patches. Its branches grow upright, sometimes arching downward.

The leaves are simple and arranged spirally, varying in both shape and size. The stipules are filiform (thread-like), up to 2 cm long, often split to the base, and covered in stiff hairs. The petioles can reach up to 50 cm in length and are frequently reddish; the upper side features a row of fine, simple hairs, while the rest of the surface is covered in scattered, stiff hairs that eventually wear away, leaving the surface glabrous (smooth/hairless).

The leaf blades range from transversely elliptic to orbicular, reaching up to 50 cm in width, with primary veins up to 35 cm long. They are palmately lobed or parted into 3, 5, or 7 segments, with a cordate (heart-shaped) base and 5–9 primary veins. The leaf segments may be triangular, ovate, elliptic, obovate, oblong, spatulate, or lanceolate in shape, with acuminate (tapering to a point) tips and serrate to crenate margins—though they can sometimes be entire (smooth-edged) or angular. The veins on both sides are covered in scattered, stiff hairs that eventually fall off.

The flowers emerge from the leaf axils, appearing either solitary or in a racemose arrangement—a result of the reduction or non-development of the upper leaves. The pedicels (flower stalks) are up to 3 cm long during flowering and extend to 7 cm when in fruit; they are covered in scattered, stiff hairs that eventually wear away. The epicalyx consists of 7–15 free segments, linear to lanceolate in shape, 5–25 mm long and 0.5–3 mm wide, with acute to acuminate tips; they are covered in stiff hairs and fall off during or shortly after the flowering period. The calyx is spathaceous, 2–6 cm long, with 5 teeth at the apex; it typically splits on one side as the corolla expands, remains attached to the corolla and staminal column, and falls off together with them. Its surface is covered in strigose or sericeous (silky) hairs.

There are 5 free petals, obovate to rounded in shape, 3–7 cm long, with fleshy bases and obtuse to retuse (notched) tips. They are glabrous and yellow—often turning bright red after blooming—with a dark purple center. The stamens are fused into a staminal column up to 2.5 cm long, which is white and glabrous. The ovary is superior and tomentose (densely covered in soft, matted hairs), often with additional stiff hairs along the ribs (costae); there are 5–10 style arms, each 3–5 mm long, ending in dark purple stigmas covered with simple hairs.

The fruit is an erect capsule, cylindrical to pyramidal in shape, 5–25 cm long and 1–5–5 cm wide, with an acuminate tip. It may be rounded or possess 5–10 angles, with depressions between the ribs, and it gradually loses its initial covering of hairs. When young, the fruit varies in color—ranging from reddish-purple and reddish-green to dark green, or from pale green to yellow. The capsule may dehisce loculicidally (either partially or completely) or remain indehiscent; it contains up to 100 seeds.

The seeds are round to ovoid, 3–6 mm in diameter, and feature small tubercles arranged in concentric rows. Sometimes, long red hairs are present on the seed coat. Germination is epigeal. The weight per 1,000 seeds ranges from 30 to 80 g. The plant grows optimally at temperatures of 30–35°C in sandy loam soil with good drainage and a pH of 6–7.

Young fruits and leaves are cooked or fried as vegetables. The fruits are boiled to prepare soups or sauces with a mucilaginous (slimy) texture. They can also be preserved by drying or pickling, and dried fruits can be ground into a powder. The mucilage is used as a plasma substitute or blood volume expander. The leaves are employed in compresses and as emollients, sudorifics (to induce sweating), and antiscorbutics (to treat scurvy), as well as for addressing dysuria.

The mucilage serves as a coating for paper and an ingredient in the production of various confections. Fibers from the stem bark are used to make fishing lines and animal traps; they can also be spun into rope or utilized in the manufacture of paper and cardboard. The seeds are roasted and used as a coffee substitute. An alcoholic extract from the leaves helps eliminate oxygen free radicals, alleviates tubulointerstitial kidney disease, improves renal function, and reduces proteinuria.

The fruit (per 100 g) contains: 88.6 g (85.7–90.2) of water, 144 kJ (36 kcal) of energy, 2.1 g (1.1–3.0) of protein, 0.2 g of fat, 8.2 g of carbohydrates, 1.7 g of fiber, 84 mg (55–142) of calcium, 90 mg of phosphorus, 1.2 mg (1.1–1.5) of iron, 185 µg (180–190) of β-carotene, 0.04 mg of thiamine, 0.08 mg of riboflavin, 0.6 mg of niacin, and 47 mg (20–126) of ascorbic acid. The leaves (per 100 g) contain 81.5 g of water (range: 75.3–92.4 g), 235 kJ (56 kcal) of energy, 4.4 g of protein (range: 2.8–5.6 g), 0.6 g of fat, 11.3 g of carbohydrates, 2.1 g of fiber, 532 mg of calcium (range: 258–635 mg), 70 mg of phosphorus, 0.7 mg of iron, 385 µg of β-carotene, 0.25 mg of thiamin, 2.8 mg of riboflavin, 0.2 mg of niacin, and 59 mg of ascorbic acid (range: 9–75 mg). The mucilage in young fruits consists of galactose (25%), rhamnose (22%), galacturonic acid (27%), and amino acids (11%). The seeds contain 20% protein and 20% oil.

TAXON

Kingdom Plantae
Phylum Tracheophyta
Subphylum Angiospermae
Class Magnoliopsida
Order Malvales
Family Malvaceae
Subfamily Malvoideae
Tribe Hibisceae
Genus Abelmoschus Medik. in Malvenfam.: 45 (1787)
Species: Abelmoschus esculentus (L.) Moench in Methodus: 617 (1794)

HOMOTYPIC SYNONYMS

Hibiscus esculentus L. in Sp. Pl.: 696 (1753)

HETEROTYPIC SYNONYMS

Abelmoschus bammia (O.Targ.Tozz.) Webb in Fragm. Fl. Aethiop.-Aegypt.: 48 (1854)
Abelmoschus longifolius (Willd.) Kostel. in Allg. Med.-Pharm. Fl. 5: 1859 (1936)
Abelmoschus praecox (Forssk.) Sickenb. in Mém. Inst. Égypt. 4: 192 (1901)
Abelmoschus praecox var. hispidus Sickenb. (1901)
Abelmoschus praecox var. pubescens Sickenb. (1901)
Bamia abelmoschus (L.) R.Br. ex Wall. in Numer. List: 52 (1829)
Hibiscus bammia O.Targ.Tozz. in Ann. Mus. Imp. Fis. Firenze 2: 51 (1810)
Hibiscus esculentus var. elongatus Berliand in P.M.Zhukovsky, Zemledel. Turtsiya: 562, 887 (1933)
Hibiscus esculentus var. praecox (Forssk.) A.Chev. in Rev. Bot. Appl. Agric. Trop. 20: 323 (1940)
Hibiscus esculentus var. textilis A.Chev. (1940)
Hibiscus esculentus var. vavilovii Berliand (1933)
Hibiscus esculentus var. vulgaris Berliand (1933)
Hibiscus esculentus var. zhukovskyi Berliand (1933)
Hibiscus ficifolius Mill. in Gard. Dict., ed. 8.: n.° 15 (1768)
Hibiscus hispidissimus A.Chev. (1940)
Hibiscus longifolius Willd. in Sp. Pl., ed. 4. 3: 827 (1800)
Hibiscus longifolius Roxb. in Fl. Ind., ed. 1832. 3: 210 (1832)
Hibiscus praecox Forssk. in Fl. Aegypt.-Arab.: 125 (1775)

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VERNACULAR NAME

Albanian: Bamja
Amharic: ባሚያ
Arabic: بامية - باميه
Armenian: Բամիա
Assamese: Bhendi
Azerbaijani: بامییه - بیتکی
Basque: Okra
Belarusian: Бамія
Bengali: ঢেঁড়স Dhenras
Bhojpuri: भिंडी
Bosnian: Bamija
Bulgarian: Бамя
Catalan: Ocra
Central Bikol: Okra
Central Kurdish: بامێ
Chinese (simplified): 咖啡黄葵 - 秋葵
Chinese (traditional): 秋葵 - 黃秋葵
Croatian: Bamija
Czech: Ibiškovec jedlý
Danish: Okra
Divehi: ބާމިޔާ
Dutch: Okra
English: Okra, Lady's-Finger, Common okra
Esperanto: Gombo
Estonian: Söödav muskushibisk
Finnish; Vihannesokra
French: Gombo, Gombo commun, Gumbo
Galician: Quiabo
German: Okra
Goan Konkani: ಬೆಂಡಾ
Greek: Μπάμια
Gujarati: Bhindo
Hausa: Kuɓewa
Hebrew: במיה
Hindi: भिंडी - ढेंरस - राम-तुरई Bhindi, Dhenras, Ram-Turai
Hong Kong: 秋葵
Indonesia: Bendi, Okra
Japanese: オクラ
Java; Okra
Kannada: Bendekayi
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa: بينډۍ
Konkani: Bhende
Macao: 秋葵
Malayalam: Ventaykka
Manipuri: Belendri
Marathi: Bhendi, Ramaturai
Mizo: Bawrhsaia Be
Ndebele: Idelele
Nepali: भिन्डी - राम-तोरिया Bhindi, Ram-Toriya
Oriya: Bhendi
Palauan: Okura
Pashto: بينډۍ
Persian: بامیه
Polish: Piżmian jadalny
Portuguese: Quiabo, Quiabeiro
Russian: Абельмош съедобный - Бамия
Sanskrit: Asra-Pattraka, Catus-Pundra, Kara-Parna, Ksetra-Sambhava, Susaka, Vrtta-Bija
Santali: ᱵᱷᱤᱱᱰᱤ
Saramaccan: Agolé
Sinhala: බණ්ඩක්කා
Slovak: Ibištek jedlý
Spanish: Okra, Molondrón
Sri Lanka: බණ්ඩක්කා
Swahili: Mbamia, Mbinda
Swat District: بینڑئ
Swedish: Okra
Taiwan: 秋葵
Tamil: வென்டை Ventai
Telugu: Benda
Thai: กระเจี๊ยบมอญ
Turkish: Bami, Bamya
Ukrainian: Бамія їстівна
Urdu: بھنڈی - ڈھینرس - رام - ترائی Bhindi, Dhenras, Ram-Turai

Aryo Bandoro
Dlium TheDlium
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