Abelmoschus
Encyclopedia
Abelmoschus is a genus of about fifteen species of flowering plant
s in the mallow
family, Malvaceae
, native to tropical Africa
, Asia
and northern Australia
. It was formerly included within Hibiscus
, but is now classified as a distinct genus.
The genus comprises annual
and perennial
herbaceous
plants, growing to 2 m tall. The leaves
are 10–40 cm long and broad, palmately lobed with 3-7 lobes, the lobes are very variable in depth, from barely lobed, to cut almost to the base of the leaf. The flower
s are 4–8 cm diameter, with five white to yellow petals, often with a red or purple spot at the base of each petal. The fruit
is a capsule, 5–20 cm long, containing numerous seed
s.
Abelmoschus species are used as food plants by the larva
e of some Lepidoptera
species including Chionodes hibiscella
which has been recorded on A. moschatus.
Selected Species
. The most important commercially-grown species is okra
.
Abelmoschus manihot (aibika) furnishes cordage like jute
, and Abelmoschus moschatus (musk mallow) is grown for musk seeds (musk ambrette, which causes photoallergy).
Flowering plant
The flowering plants , also known as Angiospermae or Magnoliophyta, are the most diverse group of land plants. Angiosperms are seed-producing plants like the gymnosperms and can be distinguished from the gymnosperms by a series of synapomorphies...
s in the mallow
Malva
Malva is a genus of about 25–30 species of herbaceous annual, biennial, and perennial plants in the family Malvaceae , one of several closely related genera in the family to bear the common English name mallow. The genus is widespread throughout the temperate, subtropical and tropical regions of...
family, Malvaceae
Malvaceae
Malvaceae, or the mallow family, is a family of flowering plants containing over 200 genera with close to 2,300 species. Judd & al. Well known members of this family include okra, jute and cacao...
, native to tropical Africa
Africa
Africa is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...
, Asia
Asia
Asia is the world's largest and most populous continent, located primarily in the eastern and northern hemispheres. It covers 8.7% of the Earth's total surface area and with approximately 3.879 billion people, it hosts 60% of the world's current human population...
and northern Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
. It was formerly included within Hibiscus
Hibiscus
Hibiscus is a genus of flowering plants in the mallow family, Malvaceae. It is quite large, containing several hundred species that are native to warm-temperate, subtropical and tropical regions throughout the world...
, but is now classified as a distinct genus.
The genus comprises annual
Annual plant
An annual plant is a plant that usually germinates, flowers, and dies in a year or season. True annuals will only live longer than a year if they are prevented from setting seed...
and perennial
Perennial plant
A perennial plant or simply perennial is a plant that lives for more than two years. The term is often used to differentiate a plant from shorter lived annuals and biennials. The term is sometimes misused by commercial gardeners or horticulturalists to describe only herbaceous perennials...
herbaceous
Herbaceous
A herbaceous plant is a plant that has leaves and stems that die down at the end of the growing season to the soil level. They have no persistent woody stem above ground...
plants, growing to 2 m tall. The leaves
Leaf
A leaf is an organ of a vascular plant, as defined in botanical terms, and in particular in plant morphology. Foliage is a mass noun that refers to leaves as a feature of plants....
are 10–40 cm long and broad, palmately lobed with 3-7 lobes, the lobes are very variable in depth, from barely lobed, to cut almost to the base of the leaf. The flower
Flower
A flower, sometimes known as a bloom or blossom, is the reproductive structure found in flowering plants . The biological function of a flower is to effect reproduction, usually by providing a mechanism for the union of sperm with eggs...
s are 4–8 cm diameter, with five white to yellow petals, often with a red or purple spot at the base of each petal. The fruit
Fruit
In broad terms, a fruit is a structure of a plant that contains its seeds.The term has different meanings dependent on context. In non-technical usage, such as food preparation, fruit normally means the fleshy seed-associated structures of certain plants that are sweet and edible in the raw state,...
is a capsule, 5–20 cm long, containing numerous seed
Seed
A seed is a small embryonic plant enclosed in a covering called the seed coat, usually with some stored food. It is the product of the ripened ovule of gymnosperm and angiosperm plants which occurs after fertilization and some growth within the mother plant...
s.
Abelmoschus species are used as food plants by the larva
Larva
A larva is a distinct juvenile form many animals undergo before metamorphosis into adults. Animals with indirect development such as insects, amphibians, or cnidarians typically have a larval phase of their life cycle...
e of some Lepidoptera
Lepidoptera
Lepidoptera is a large order of insects that includes moths and butterflies . It is one of the most widespread and widely recognizable insect orders in the world, encompassing moths and the three superfamilies of butterflies, skipper butterflies, and moth-butterflies...
species including Chionodes hibiscella
Chionodes
Chionodes is a genus of moths of the family Gelechiidae. Members of this group can be found in most parts of the world. Many species of this genus utilize Douglas-fir as a host plant for their larvae.-Species:Species in this genus include:...
which has been recorded on A. moschatus.
Selected Species
- Abelmoschus cailleiAbelmoschus cailleiAbelmoschus caillei, the West African okra, is a plant species in the family Malvaceae. It occurs in West and Central Africa, where it is used as a vegetable. It originated as an allopolyploid hybrid of Abelmoschus esculentus and A. manihot. The same hybrid was produced experimentally in Japan...
- (syn. Hibsicus manihot var. caillei). West African okraAbelmoschus cailleiAbelmoschus caillei, the West African okra, is a plant species in the family Malvaceae. It occurs in West and Central Africa, where it is used as a vegetable. It originated as an allopolyploid hybrid of Abelmoschus esculentus and A. manihot. The same hybrid was produced experimentally in Japan... - Abelmoschus esculentus - (syn. Hibiscus esculentus). OkraOkraOkra is a flowering plant in the mallow family. It is valued for its edible green seed pods. The geographical origin of okra is disputed, with supporters of South Asian, Ethiopian and West African origins...
- Abelmoschus manihot - (syn. Hibiscus manihot). AibikaAibikaThe aibika is a flowering plant in the mallow family Malvaceae. It was formerly considered a species of Hibiscus, but is now classified in the genus Abelmoschus...
- Abelmoschus moschatusAbelmoschus moschatusAbelmoschus moschatus Abelmoschus moschatus Abelmoschus moschatus (Abelmosk, Ambrette seeds, Annual hibiscus, Bamia Moschata, Galu Gasturi, Muskdana, Musk mallow, Musk okra, Musk seeds, Ornamental okra, Rose mallow seeds, Tropical jewel hibiscus, Yorka okra; syn...
- (syn. Hibiscus abelmoschus). Musk MallowMusk mallowMusk mallow or musk-mallow may refer the following plants from the Malvaceae family:*Abelmoschus moschatus, native to India*Malva alcea, native to southern and eastern Europe and southwestern Asia, also known as the Greater Musk-mallow... - Abelmoschus ficulneusAbelmoschus ficulneusAbelmoschus ficulneus is a species of flowering plant in the genus Abelmoschus, family Malvaceae. Commonly known as White Wild Musk Mallow or Native Rosella, it is fibrous perennial with a woody stem...
- (syn. Hibiscus ficulneus). White Wild Musk Mallow
Uses
Several species are edible, with both the young seed pods and the young leaves being eaten as a vegetableVegetable
The noun vegetable usually means an edible plant or part of a plant other than a sweet fruit or seed. This typically means the leaf, stem, or root of a plant....
. The most important commercially-grown species is okra
Okra
Okra is a flowering plant in the mallow family. It is valued for its edible green seed pods. The geographical origin of okra is disputed, with supporters of South Asian, Ethiopian and West African origins...
.
Abelmoschus manihot (aibika) furnishes cordage like jute
Jute
Jute is a long, soft, shiny vegetable fibre that can be spun into coarse, strong threads. It is produced from plants in the genus Corchorus, which has been classified in the family Tiliaceae, or more recently in Malvaceae....
, and Abelmoschus moschatus (musk mallow) is grown for musk seeds (musk ambrette, which causes photoallergy).