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Abelmoschus esculentus (L.) Moench

Overview
General Information
ID Info
Similar Species
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Aperçu
Renseignements Généraux
Informations D'identification
Espèces Semblables
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Family :

Famille :

Malvaceae

Synonym(s) :

Synonyme(s) :

Hibiscus esculentus L. (FNA 1993+; Wiersema & León 2016; USDA-ARS 2024)

Common Name(s) :

Nom(s) commun(s) :

Okra

(English) (FNA 1993+; Tropicos 2024; USDA-ARS 2024)
Gumbo (English) (FNA 1993+; Wiersema & León 2016; Tropicos 2024)
Lady’s-fingers (English) (Wiersema & León 2016; Tropicos 2024; USDA-ARS 2024)
Gombo (French) (Wiersema & León 2016; CABI 2024; USDA-ARS 2024)
咖啡黄葵 ka fei huang kui (Chinese) (FOC 1994+)
Ocker (German) (Wiersema & León 2016; USDA-ARS 2024)
Kopi arab (Indonesian) (Wiersema & León 2016; USDA-ARS 2024)
Ocra (Italian) (Wiersema & León 2016; USDA-ARS 2024)
Quiabo (Portuguese) (Wiersema & León 2016; USDA-ARS 2024)
Gombo (Spanish) (Wiersema & León 2016; USDA-ARS 2024)

Abelmoschus esculentus (okra) seeds

  • Abelmoschus esculentus (okra) seeds

  • Abelmoschus esculentus (okra) seeds, various views

  • Abelmoschus esculentus (okra) seeds

  • Abelmoschus esculentus  (okra) seed, side view

  • Abelmoschus esculentus (okra) seed, hilum view

  • Abelmoschus esculentus (okra) seed, side view and hilum view

  • Abelmoschus esculentus (okra) seed, without hilum flap

  • Abelmoschus esculentus (okra) seed surface, close-up

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Overview

Aperçu

Regulation :

Remarques Réglementation:

    Regulation Notes:

    Distribution :

    Répartition :

    The native range has been obscured by the long history of cultivation in multiple countries. Possible regions of origin are northern India, eastern or western Africa, or southeast Asia based on established ancestor species (Lamont 1999; Kumar et al. 2010; Benchasri 2012). A. esculentus cultivation expanded into the Mediterranean region, the Middle East, Africa, Asia, and was introduced to South America (Brazil) during the 18th century (Lamont 1999; Benchasri 2012; Sousa and Raizada 2020).

    Habitat and Crop Association :

    Habitat et Cultures Associées :

    Economic Use, cultivation area, and Weed Association :

    Utilisation économique, zone de culture et association de mauvaises herbes :

    Abelmoschus esculentus prefers tropical and subtropical climates in a range of soil types, is heat and drought tolerant, and does best in fertile, moist, well-drained soils (Lamont 1999; Benchasri 2012). The plants are still grown in both small garden plots and large fields, and Benchasri (2012) lists countries with commercial production: India, Japan, Turkey, Iran, Western Africa, Yugoslavia, Bangladesh, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Myanmar, Malaysia, Thailand, India, Brazil, Ethiopia, Cyprus, and the Southern United States.

    A. esculentus is grown primarily for immature fruits that contain both soluble and insoluble fiber content, vitamin C, vitamin A and folate (Kumar et al. 2010; Gemede et al. 2014). The mucilage that the pods extrude is used to thicken stews and sauces (Gemede et al. 2014). The leaves of the plant can be eaten as a vegetable, and the mature seeds contain large amounts of protein, oil, and unsaturated fatty acids (Kumar et al. 2010; Gemede et al. 2014). The seeds, oils and mucilage have a number of additional nutritional, cosmetic and industrial applications such as: decreasing cholesterol, regulating blood sugars, adhesives, coffee substitute, seed flour, and as a lubricant (Kumar et al. 2010; Gemede et al. 2014).

    A number of weed species can interfere with and greatly reduce A. esculentus production (Bachega et al. 2013; Patel et al. 2017). A. esculentus field weeds in Gujarat, India were dominated by the grasses Eleusine indica (L.) Gaertn. and Digitaria sanguinalis (L.) Scop. (Sharma and Patel 2011). Other interfering species include: Echinochloa spp. P. Beauv., Convolvulus arvensis L., Trianthema portulacastrum L., Digera muricata (L.) Mart., Physalis minima L. and Cynodon dactylon (L.) Pers. (Patel et al. 2017).

    Dominant weed species in Brazil A. esculentus fields were: Portulaca oleracea L., Nicandra physaloides (L.) Gaertn., Eleusine indica, Cynodon dactylon, Amaranthus spinosus L. and Commelina benghalensis L. (Bachega et al. 2013; Santos et al. 2020).

    Duration of Life Cycle :

    Durée du cycle vital:

    Annual

    Dispersal Unit Type :

    Type d’unité de dispersion :

    Seed

    General Information

    RENSEIGNEMENTS GÉNÉRAUX

    Abelmoschus esculentus cultivars were found to have a variable and large number of chromosomes, ranging from 2n = 66 to 144 (Lamont 1999), suggesting hybridizations during crop development (Lamont 1999; Benchasri 2012; Wang et al. 2023). Abelmoschus tuberculatus Pal & Singh is likely one donor species, and the other may be either Abelmoschus ficulneus (L.) Wight & Arn. or Abelmoschus moschatus Medik. (Wang et al. 2023).

    The majority of global commercial production is in India at 62% and Nigeria at 21% (Kumar et al. 2010; Sousa and Raizada 2020). Locally adapted cultivars are also grown in garden plots or family farms, and are an important nutritious and medicinal species for local families (Kumar et al. 2010; Bachega et al. 2013; Sousa and Raizada 2020).

    The introduction of A. esculentus into the New World is closely associated with the Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade of African people, who cultivated the species for sustenance in Brazil, the Caribbean and the southern United States (Sousa and Raizada 2020). The historic importance of A. esculentus has been preserved in modern southern African-American food culture and oral traditions (Sousa and Raizada 2020).

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    Identification

    Identification

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    • Capsule

      Size

      • Capsule size from literature:
        Capsule length: 8-30 cm (FNA 1993+)

      Shape

      • Capsules cylindrical, tapering into a pointed end (beak); opposite end truncate, with a remnant peduncle
      • Capsule may be weakly or strongly pentagonal

      Surface Texture

      • Capsules densely pubescent with short hairs
      • Capsules smooth or with 5 longitudinal ridges

      Colour

      • Immature capsules green, red, or purple (Lamont 1999)
      • Mature capsules brownish

      Other Features

      • Mature capsules open along 5 longitudinal lines, corresponding to the ridges on immature fruit
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    >

    • Seed

      Size

      • Seed size from literature:
        Seed length: 5.39 ± 0.23 mm; width: 4.99 ± 0.04 mm (Patil et al. 2015)

      Shape

      • Seeds are inflated globose, oval or D-shaped, with a flattened hilum area
      • The hilum area is broad oval-shaped

      Surface Texture

      • Seed surface with several concentric, closely spaced rows of the remnant bases of surface hairs, appearing similar to papillate tubercles under 20x magnification
      • Several long hairs remain attached around the hilum area
      • Surface is ridged reticulate with concave, polygonal interspaces under 60x magnification
      • The hilum area has a central groove (hilum) surrounded by radiating striations

      Colour

      • Seed surface is generally dark brownish-grey or greenish-grey; the seed appears green or yellowish-green from a thin, yellowish top layer
      • The hair remnant bases are yellow
      • The hilum area is dark grey or blackish coloured

      Other Features

      • The hilum area is generally covered by a piece of seed coat tissue that may be removed during seed processing
      • A funicular remnant may be present on one end of the hilum area
      • Immature seeds have concentric rows of hairs that detach at maturity (deciduous hairs); the bases remain on the mature seed (Patil et al. 2015)

      Abelmoschus esculentus (okra) seeds

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    • Embryo

      Size

      • Embryo fills the seed

      Shape

      • Embryo is bent

      Endosperm

      • Endosperm lacking (Martin 1946), nutritive tissue in cotyledons

      Other Features

      • Cotyledons large and folded

      Abelmoschus esculentus (okra) seed, cross-section

    Identification Tips

    CONSEILS POUR L’IDENTIFICATION

    Abelmoschus contains approximately 50 species worldwide, with the taxonomic rank of some species uncertain. This genus was once considered part of Hibiscus, but is now a separate genus, mostly based on fruit features (Patil et al. 2015). Seeds of Abelmoschus species are generally globose, almost globose, or kidney-shaped with differing degrees of lateral compression and pubescence (Patil et al. 2015).

    Patil et al. (2015) provides comprehensive descriptions of Abelmoschus species seed features, and separates the species by shape and persistence of surface hairs. Species such as A. crinitus Wall. and A. moschatus Medik. have deciduous hairs, but are kidney-shaped and dark brownish. Seeds with persistent hairs that are globose shaped and greenish include: A. tuberculatus Pal & Singh and A. ficulneus (L.) Wight & Arn.; both species likely contributed to A. esculentus development.

    Abelmoschus esculentus  (okra) seed, side view

    Additional Botany Information

    AUTRES RENSEIGNEMENTS BOTANIQUES

    Flowers/Inflorescence

    • Flowers are attached where the leaf meets the stem (axillary) on a single stalk (peduncle)
    • Flowers are up to 8 cm diameter (FNA 1993+)
    • Petals are light yellow or whitish with a reddish or purple spot at the base
    • The stamens form a column that is anther-bearing from near the base (FNA 1993+)

    Vegetative Features

    • Plants grow to 1–2 m tall (FNA 1993+)
    • Stems may be green, green with patches of red colour, or red
    • Leaf shape varies from slightly lobed to deeply palmately lobed (FNA 1993+)
    • Leaf length 10–25 cm, width is similar to the length or wider (FNA 1993+)

    Similar Species

    ESPÈCES SEMBLABLES

    Similar species are based on a study of seed morphology of various species, and those with similar dispersal units are identified. The study is limited by physical specimen and literature availability at the time of examination, and possibly impacted by the subjectivity of the authors based on their knowledge and experience. Providing similar species information for seed identification is to make users aware of similarities that could possibly result in misidentification.

    Abelmoschus caillei (A.Chev.) Stevels (West African okra)

    A. caillei is a closely related species that is grown in tropical areas of West Africa, and appears to be better adapted to humidity and biotic stressors than A. esculentus in those areas (Kumar et al. 2010). The seeds of A. caillei may be slightly larger than A. esculentus (length: 5.48 ± 0.05 mm; width: 4.80 ± 0.04 mm, Patil et al. 2015), but they have a large amount of overlapping features and distinguishing them may be difficult. The surface reticulation of A. caillei has larger interspaces than A. esculentus (Patil et al. 2015), but would require microscopic study to distinguish the species based on this feature.

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    Reference(s)

    Référence(s)

    Bachega, L.P.S., Carvalho, L.B., Bianco, S., and Cecílio Filho, A.B. 2013. Períodos de interferência de plantas daninhas na cultura do quiabo. Planta Daninha, Viçosa-MG 31: 63-70.

    Benchasri, S. 2012. Okra as a valuable vegetable of the world. Ratarstvo i Povrtarstvo 49: 105-112.

    Centre for Agriculture and Bioscience International (CABI). 2024. Invasive Species Compendium, CAB International, Wallingford, UK. https://www.cabidigitallibrary.org/journal/cabicompendium Accessed July 15, 2024.

    Flora of China (FOC). 1994+. Abelmoschus esculentus. Vol. 12 Page 285 (English edition). http://www.efloras.org/florataxon.aspx?flora_id=2&taxon_id=200013666 Accessed July 15, 2024.

    Flora of North America (FNA) Editorial Committee, eds. 1993+. Flora of North America North of Mexico [Online]. 22+ vols. New York and Oxford. http://beta.floranorthamerica.org Accessed May 02, 2024.

    Gemede, H.F., Ratta, N., Haki, G.D., Woldegiorgis, A. Z. and Beyene, F. 2014. Nutritional Quality and Health Benefits of Okra (Abelmoschus esculentus): A Review. Food Science and Quality Management 33: Online ISSN: 2249-4618 Accessed May 02, 2024.

    International Seed Morphology Association (ISMA). 2020. Method for Seed Size Measurement. Version 1.0. ISMA Publication Guide.

    Kumar, S., Dagnoko, S., Haougui, A., Ratnadass, A., Pasternak, D. and Kouame, C. 2010. Okra (Abelmoschus spp.) in West and Central Africa: Potential and progress on its improvement. African Journal of Agricultural Research 5: 3590-3598.

    Lamont, W.J. Jr. 1999. Okra—A versatile vegetable crop. Hort Technology 9: 179-180.

    Patel, T.U., Zinzala, M.J., Patel, D.D.,Patel, H.H. and Italiya, A.P. 2017. Weed management influence on weed dynamics and yield of summer lady’s finger. Indian Journal of Weed Science 49: 263–265.

    Patil, P., Malik, S.K., Sutar, S., Yadav, S., John, J. and Bhat, K.V. 2015. Taxonomic importance of seed macro- and micro-morphology in Abelmoschus (Malvaceae). Nordic Journal of Botany 33: 696–707.

    Santos, R.N.V., Pires, T.P., Mesquita, M.L.R., Correa, M.J.P. and Silva, M.R.M. 2020. Weed interference in okra crop in the organic system during the dry season. Planta Daninha 38:e020217201 Accessed May 02, 2024.

    Sharma, S. and Patel, B.D. 2011. Weed management in okra grown in kharif season under middle Gujarat conditions. Indian Journal of Weed Science 43: 226-227.

    Sousa, E.C. and Raizada M.N. 2020. Contributions of African Crops to American Culture and Beyond: The Slave Trade and Other Journeys of Resilient Peoples and Crops. Frontiers in Sustainable Food Systems. https://doi.org/10.3389/fsufs.2020.586340 Accessed May 02, 2024.

    Tropicos. 2023. Missouri Botanical Garden. https://tropicos.org Accessed July 15, 2024.

    U.S. Department of Agriculture-Agricultural Research Services (USDA-ARS). 2024. Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN), https://npgsweb.ars-grin.gov/gringlobal/taxon/taxonomysearch Accessed July 15, 2024.

    Wang, R., Li, W., He, Q. Zhang, H., Wang, M., Zheng, X., Liu, Z., Wang, Y., Du, C., Du, H., and Xing, L. 2023. The genome of okra (Abelmoschus esculentus) provides insights into its genome evolution and high nutrient content. Horticulture Research 10: https://doi.org/10.1093/hr/uhad120 Accessed May 02, 2024.

    Wiersema, John, H. and Blanca León. 2016. World Economic Plants. Available from: VitalSource Bookshelf, (2nd Edition). Taylor & Francis.

    Author(s)

    AUTEUR(S)

    Jennifer Neudorf, Angela Salzl

    Canadian Food Inspection Agency

    contactus@idseed.org

    Last updated
    on 2023-03-27

    © 2024 ISMA - International Seed Morphology Association