Musk Okra

Oil from the seed is economically valuable. Borssum Waalkes recognized three SubSpe within Abelmoschus moschatus, one of which, subsp. tuberosus, is here included within A. sagittifolius. The Chinese material belongs to subsp. moschatus while the third SubSpe, subsp. biakensis, is restricted to New Guinea.

Herb or undershrub, erect 0.5-3 m tall. Stem simple and retrorse hairy, hispid to prickly. Leaves 6-30 cm long and broad, orbicular or broadly ovate, cordate at base, not or 3-7 lobed or parted, hispid on both sides; lobes deltoid to oblong-lanceolate, serrate to dentate or crenate or rarely entire; stipules linear or filiform, 6-12 mm long, simple hairy; petiole 2-30 cm long, hispid. Flowers axillary, solitary, pedicel 2-8 cm long, in fruit up to 19 cm. Epicalyx segments 6-10, 8-20 (-25) mm long, 1-2.5 (--5) mm broad, appressed, linear to lanceolate. Calyx 2-3.5 cm long. Corolla 10 cm across, yellow with a deep purple spot at the base; petals (3-) 7-9 cm long, 2-5.5 cm broad, ciliate at base. Staminal tube 1.5-2 cm long. Capsule 5-8 cm long, 2-3.5 cm across, ovoid to fusiform, densely simple hairy, usually hispid. Seeds 3-4 mm across, ovoid-reniform, usually glabrous or rarely stellate pubescent, black.

Herbs annual or perennial, (0.25-)1-2 m tall, most parts uniformly yellow hispid/setose, rarely glabrous or also pale pubescent, taproot tapered, not swollen. Stipules filiform, 7-8 mm; petiole 7-15 cm, sometimes densely pubescent along adaxial groove; leaf blade 6-15 cm in diam., very variable in form, usually palmately (3-)5-7-lobed, lobes lanceolate to triangular; blades on distal part of stem narrower, both surfaces sparsely hirsute, base cordate, margin irregularly serrate. Flowers solitary, axillary. Pedicel 2-3 cm, hirsute. Epicalyx lobes 6-10, linear to narrowly oblong, (8-)10-13 × 1.5-2 mm, incurved, appressed to capsule. Calyx spatulate, much longer than epicalyx, 2-3 cm, 5-parted, usually caducous, uniformly densely pubescent. Corolla 7-12 cm in diam., yellow with dark purple center; petals obovate. Staminal column ca. 2.5 cm, glabrous. Ovary hairy; style hairy, branches 5; stigma disk-shaped. Capsule oblong, 5-6 cm, apex acute, uniformly yellow hirsute. Seeds black-brown, reniform, concentrically ribbed, glandular-reticulate, with musk smell. Fl. Jun-Oct.

Cultivated throughout tropical Asia.

Distribution: A native of the Old World tropics. In Pakistan it is said to be cultivated for its value in medicine. I have not seen any specimen from Pakistan.

Scrub on slopes, valleys, streamsides, flat areas. Guangdong, Guangxi, Hunan, Jiangxi, Taiwan, Yunnan [Cambodia, India, Laos, Thailand, Vietnam].

Hibiscus abelmoschus Linnaeus, Sp. Pl. 1: 696. 1753; Abelmoschus moschatus var. betulifolius (Masters) Hochreutiner; H. abelmoschus var. betulifolius Masters; H. chinensis Roxburgh ex Masters.