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Malvaceae
Okra Flower
Abelmoschus esculentus
Nourishment and hidden beauty in utility.
- Family
- Malvaceae
- Genus
- Abelmoschus
- Native to
- Ethiopia, West Africa, South Asia
- Bloom season
- Summer
- Type
- annual
- Height
- 3-6 ft
- Sunlight
- full sun
- Soil
- fertile, well-drained, warm
- Water
- moderate
- Hardiness
- 2-11
- Lifespan
- annual
Did you know
- The flower is strikingly beautiful and resembles a hibiscus — they are in the same family, Malvaceae.
- Okra arrived in North America through the transatlantic slave trade and became a cornerstone of Southern cuisine.
- The mucilaginous sap that makes okra slimy is a natural thickener central to Creole gumbo.
- Each flower blooms for only one day; if pollinated, the pod develops within a week.
- During the Civil War, roasted okra seeds were used as a coffee substitute throughout the Confederate states.
Color meanings
0
sustenance
1
grace under the sun
2
Southern hospitality