304 GARDEN FARMING 



OKRA, OR GUMBO 1 



From time to time the list of American garden crops has been 

 increased either by the addition of one already in use in the Old 

 World or by the improvement and domestication of an indigenous 

 wild species. In the case of okra the former is true, for it has been 

 in use in the Mediterranean regions for centuries. In the Southern 

 states it has been extensively used for many years, but up to the 

 present time it has been cultivated to only a limited extent in the 

 middle and northern sections of this country. 



While okra has no great food value, and probably will never 

 become an important commercial crop, a few plants make a desir- 

 able addition to the vegetable garden. It is used principally for 

 flavoring soups, and to these it gives a pleasant taste and mucilag- 

 inous consistency. Some persons do not relish the flavor at first, 

 but usually acquire a taste for it. 



Botany. Okra, or gumbo, as it is commonly called (Hibiscus 

 esculentus L.), is a tropical annual belonging to the order Malva- 

 ceae. This order includes some important economic plants, of 

 which cotton and okra have the greatest commercial value, and 

 such ornamentals as the abutilons and many varieties of hibiscus. 

 The okra plant somewhat resembles the cotton plant, but has 

 much larger and rougher leaves and a thicker stem. Its flowers 

 are similar to those of the cotton in size, shape, and color. They 

 are always single and show little variation in the different varieties. 



Distribution. The original home of the okra plant is not defi- 

 nitely known, but it is either Africa, the West Indies, or Central 

 America. De Candolle, after a discussion of the matter, concludes 

 that it must have had its origin in Africa, since it is mentioned 

 as having been under cultivation by the Egyptians as early as 

 1216 A.D., long before the discovery of America. The fact that 

 many tons of okra pods are annually grown and consumed in Tur- 

 key, the northern part of Africa, and the Mediterranean region 

 generally, and that its use in America is limited to recent years, 

 would tend to strengthen the theory of its African origin. 



The American seed-trade catalogues show okra entered under 

 more than fifty varietal names, the greater number of which are 



1 Adapted from Farmers 1 Bulletin No. 232 by W. R. Beattie. 



