GUMBO or OKRA, an herbaceous hairy annual plant (Hibiscus esculentus) of the mallow family (Malvaceae), probably of Afri can origin, and now widely cultivated or naturalized in tropical and sub-tropical countries. The leaves are cordate, and to 5-lobed, and the flowers yellow, with a crimson centre ; the fruit or pod, the Bendi-Kai of the Europeans of southern India, is a tapering, io-angled capsule, 4 in. to 10 in. in length, except in the dwarf varieties, and contains numerous oval dark-coloured seeds, hairy at the base. The unripe fruit is eaten either pickled or prepared like asparagus. It is also an ingredient in various dishes, e.g., the gumbo of the southern United States, and on account of the large amount of mucilage it contains, it is extensively used for thickening broths and soups. The fruit is grown on a large scale in the vicinity of Constantinople. The seeds of the gumbo are used as a substitute for coffee. From their demulcent and emolli ent properties, the leaves and immature fruit have long been in repute in the East for use in poultices and fomentations.
The musk okra (Hibiscus Abelmoschus or Abelmoschus moscha tus), indigenous to India, and cultivated in most warm regions of the globe, is a low, slightly woody plant, bearing a conical 5-ridged pod about 3 in. in length, within which are numerous brown reniform seeds, smaller than those of H. esculentus. The seeds possess a musky odour, due to an oleo-resin present in the integu ment, and are known to perfumers under the name of ambrette as a substitute for musk. They are said to be used by the Arabs for scenting coffee. The seeds are used in Africa as beads. The plant yields an excellent fibre, and, being rich in mucilage, is employed in Upper India for clarifying sugar. The best-perfumed seeds are reported to come from Martinique.
See P. Alpinus, De plantis Aegypti (Venice, 1S42) ; G. Watt, Dic tionary of the Economic Products of India (18go) .