atoll research bulletin no. 392 the flora of - Smithsonian Institution ...

Hibiscus esculentus L. "okra", "gumbo", lady's finger"; bindi (Fiji Hindi)
syn. Abelmoschus esculentus (L.) Moench.
Recent introduction. Asia. Coarse, erect suffruticose, annual herb, 1 to 3 m high,
with green or red-tinged stems; leaves, 10 to 25 cm long and 10 to 35 cm wide,
alternate, broadly cordate, palmately 3- to 7 lobed, serrate, hirsute, pale green beneath;
petioles, 15 to 35 cm long, hispid, often red-tinged; flowers, solitary, axillary; peduncle
about 2 cm long; epicalyx of up to 10 narrow bracteoles, up to 1.5 cm long, usually
falling before fruit reaches maturity; calyx completely fused as flower develops, splitting
longitudinally as flower opens, falling with the corolla after anthesis, 2 to 3 cm long;
petals 5, yellow with crimson spot on claw, obovate, 5 to 7 cm long; stamina1 column
united to base of petals, 2 to 3 cm long, with numerous stamens; stigmas small, 5 to 9,
deep red; fruit, 10 to 30 cm long and 2 to 3 cm across, a pyramidal-oblong, beaked
capsule, longitudinally furrowed, hirsute or glabrous, dehiscing longitudinally when ripe;
seeds, 5 mm in diameter, dark green to brown, rounded, tuberculate.
Hibiscus manihot L. "bush spinach", "edible hibiscus" ; "bush hibiscus spinach" ;
"pele" (Polynesia); lnbele (bele in Fiji); nambere (K); pele (T); kabis, slippery
kabis (SI)
syn. Abelmoschus manih,ot (L.) Medik
Recent introduction. S. E. Asia. Occasional. Erect, perennial, often suffruticose
woody herb or subshrub, 1.5 to 3 m or higher, with young stems, petioles and pedicels
glabrous or short-hairy, often accompanied by longer hairs; leaves, 10 to 60 cm by 5 to
60 cm, alternate, extremely variable in shape, orbicular to ovate-oblong, base cordate,
either contracted into an elongated-triangular acumen from a broad base or palmately 3 to
7-lobed (or 3 to 7-fid) to subentire, lobes or segments triangular-ovate, oblong-lanceolate,
obovate-spathulate or linear, entire, dentate or serrate, pellucid-dotted, more or less
crenate, glabrous or pubescent; petiole, 2 to 50 cm long; stipules, 2 to 8 cm long,
filiform, caducous, flanked by paired, variable lobed or entire leaflets, 2 to 6 cm long;
inflorescences, axillary, solitary, on pedicels, 1 to 5 cm long; bracteoles of epicalyx, 4 to
6 (-8), 1 to 3 cm long and 0.5 to 1 cm broad, ovate to oblong, not rarely coherent in
pairs, pubescent on both sides; petals 3, 5 to 8 cm by 3 to 6 cm, yellow with purple
centers; fruit, 3.5 to 6 cm long and 2 to 2.5 cm broad, capsular, pentagonous, with 5
prominent costas, concave between the costas, loculicidally dehiscent; seeds, many, about
3 to 4 mm long, subglobose, asymmetrical, dark brown, pubescent. Food plant in
gardens at Location and Topside Workshop and occasionally in other home gardens.
Nutritious slippery green leaves cooked as a green vegetable by Solomon Islanders,
Tuvaluans, I-Kiribati and Fijians. Along with taro leaves, one of the two most important
leafy green vegetables in the Pacific Is. 5, 6(105), 7.