| Lifespan: | ⌛ | perennial, annual |
|---|---|---|
| Origin: | ✈ | Asia |
| Exposure: | ☼ | sun |
|---|---|---|
| Features: | ✓ | flowers |
| Flower features: | ❀ | red, yellow, purple |
Abelmoschus is a genus of about fifteen species of flowering plants 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 very variable in depth, from barely lobed, to cut almost to the base of the leaf. The flowers 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 seeds.
Cultivation
Like fertile soil with good drainage, and full sun.
Propagation
Seeds should be planted indoors late winter or early spring at 50-55F (10-13C), or outdoors after all danger of frost.
Pests and diseases
Pests: Slugs, spider mites, whiteflies. Diseases: Powdery mildew and some other fungal diseases. Root rots and bacterial diseases can also afflict Abelmoschus.
Species
15 speciesAH including:
- Abelmoschus caillei - (syn. Hibsicus manihot var. caillei). West African okra
- Abelmoschus esculentus - (syn. Hibiscus esculentus). Okra
- Abelmoschus manihot - (syn. Hibiscus manihot). Aibika
- Abelmoschus moschatus - (syn. Hibiscus abelmoschus). Musk Mallow
Gallery
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References
- Standard Cyclopedia of Horticulture, by L. H. Bailey, MacMillan Co., 1963
External links
- w:Abelmoschus. Some of the material on this page may be from Wikipedia, under the Creative Commons license.
- Abelmoschus QR Code (Size 50, 100, 200, 500)