An annual crop plant grown for its edible, ridged seed pods, a member of the hibiscus/mallow family.
Okra (Abelmoschus esculentus, family Malvaceae) is an upright, often much-branched, slightly woody annual 2 to 4 metres tall, covered in spiny hairs. It is widely grown in warm temperate and tropical areas for its edible pods, and it also has other food and medicinal uses and gives a good-quality fibre. Its original home is unclear, and it is not known wild. The hairs on the pods can irritate the skin, so gloves are worn for picking, though the hairs wash off easily.
Most varieties grow well in the humid lowland tropics up to 1,000 metres, best at 20 to 30°C with 600 to 1,200 mm of rain a year. It needs a warm, sunny position sheltered from wind and a well-drained, fertile, humus-rich soil, preferably high in potash, and it likes plenty of moisture in both soil and air. Most varieties take about four months from sowing to the first crop, but some early ones crop in 50 days in the tropics. Picking regularly keeps a plant producing for several months, and cutting it back after harvest can give two or three crops from each plant. Yields are usually 2 to 3 tonnes per hectare. Seed is soaked for 24 hours and sown in place; it needs a soil temperature of at least 16°C and germinates in six days at 35°C but 27 days at 15°C.
Source: Useful Tropical Plants database (Fern, K.).
Mucilage from the pods has been studied for blood-sugar and cholesterol management.
The immature seed pods are a widely eaten vegetable, cooked in soups and stews, valued for their mucilaginous thickening quality.
Grown as an annual warm-season crop from seed; a major vegetable crop across Nigeria and the tropics.