72 



thickening soups. The roasted seeds have been used as a sub- 

 stitute for coffee (Mus. Kew), and they are said to be used as a 

 substitute for pearl barley. The mucilage of both fruits and 

 seeds is used medicinally as a demulcent. The mature fruits form 

 a constituent of curry. The leaves are recommended for cattle 

 fodder, and the dried stalks as fuel (Diet. Econ. Prod. Ind.). 



Under cultivation as a vegetable two varieties are distinguished 

 — the long-fruited green and the round-fruited (Kew Bull. Add. 

 Ser. ii. p. 8). The plant is cultivated in nearly every native 

 garden or farm as a vegetable. When grown as a vegetable the 

 young plants should have the tops pinched out when about a foot 

 high. It takes from 5 to 10 lb. of seed to sow an acre, at intervals 

 of about a foot, on ridges 3 feet apart, and the yield of fruit may 

 vary from about 5,000 to 6,000 lbs. (Watt, Comm. Prod. 

 Ind. p. 631). For cultivation as a fibre plant see the preceding 

 species. 



Ref.— Diet. Econ. Prod, iv, pp. 237-240.— Dodge, I.e. pp. 194- 

 195.— Kew Bull. Add. Ser. ii. pp. 8-9.— Med. PI. Bentl. and Trim. 

 No. 36. — "Okra, Culture and Uses," Beattie, U.S. Dept. Agric. 

 Farmers' Bull. 232, 1905, pp. 1-16.— " Fibres of British W. 

 Africa," and " Jute Substitutes," in Bull. Imp. Inst. 1907, pp. 8-9 ; 

 1908, pp. 128-130.— Comm. Prod. Ind. Watt, 1908, pp. 631-632. 



Hibiscus lunariifolius, Willd. ; Fl. Trop. Afr. I. p. 202. 



III.— Bot. Reg. t. 917 (H. racemosus) ; Wight, Ic. PI Ind. or. i. 

 t. 6. 



Vernac. names. — Ramma or Rama (Kontagora, Dalziel). 

 Kontagora. Native of India ; widely distributed in Africa. 



Yields a good fibre, commercially described as Jute, hard and 

 similar to that received from China, likely to sell freely at £12 to 

 £13 per ton (Kew Bull. 1899, p. 139). 



A sample of fibre believed to be obtained from this'species was 

 recently submitted to the Imperial Institute from N. Nigeria. It 

 was valued at £12 per ton (with common Jute at £11-12), and 

 described as of good lustre and strength ; length 3-7 feet ; capable 

 of resisting the prolonged action of water ; too harsh for use as a 

 Jute substitute, but would make strong and durable ropes. The 

 sample had the following composition : — Moisture 8*5 per cent. ; 

 ash *4 per cent. ; («) hydrolysis (loss) 7 # 4 per cent. ; (6) hydro- 

 lysis (loss) 10*2 per cent. ; acid purification (loss) *4 per cent. ; 

 cellulose 76*8 per cent. 



Rama bark ribbons, six feet long, have been valued at £4 per 

 ton, and the fibre in this condition is considered fit only for 

 paper-making (Bull. Imp. Inst. 1908, p. 132). 



For cultivation and preparation see H. cannabinus. 



Hibiscus mutabilis, Linn. Sp. PI. p. 694. 



A small tree, without prickles. Leaves 2 in., nearly or quite 

 glabrous ; petiole short. Peduncle shorter than the petiole. 

 Bracteoles 6-7, linear. Sepals ovate-lanceolate, longer than the 

 bracteoles. Petals obovate, longer than the calyx. Anthers in 

 whorls all the way up the column. Capsule oblong, obtuse, 

 slightly hispid. Seeds pilose (Fl. Brit. Ind. i. p. 344). 



