Okra or Lady's Fingers
Okra, or lady's finger is a flowering plant in the mallow family Malvaceae,
originating somewhere near present-day Ethiopia. It was formerly considered a
species of Hibiscus, but is now classified in the genus Abelmoschus. The word
okra is of African origin and means "lady's fingers" in Igbo, a language spoken
in what is now known as Nigeria.
It is an annual or perennial herbaceous plant, growing to 2 m tall, straight
up with very little heliotropism. The leaves are 10-20 cm long and broad,
palmately lobed with 5-7 lobes. 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.
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