Abelmos

2024 Author: Gavin MacAdam | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 13:38

Abelmoschus - a genus of herbaceous flowering plants of the Malvaceae family (Latin Malvaceae). Previously, the plants were attributed by botanists to the genus Hibiscus (lat. Hibiscus) of the same family, but then they were separated into an independent genus, since they have a number of differences from plants with the name "Hibiscus". Some species of the genus give people healthy edible fruits that have healing qualities.

What's in your name

The plant owes its Latin name to a German botanist who was also a doctor named Friedrich Kasimir Medikus (06.01.1736 - 15.07.1808). In the name, the botanist reflected the musky odor exuded by the seeds of one of the plant species of this genus, with which he probably had the opportunity to meet earlier than other species. Friedrich Casimir Medicus went down in the history of Mankind as an ardent opponent of Karl Linnaeus, trying at every opportunity to criticize the classification system of plants he created, trying to oppose it with his own classification, which also suffered from a number of inaccuracies.

However, today botanists use the system of Carl Linnaeus, periodically making amendments to it. What, for example, happened to the described genus, the plants of which Karl Linnaeus originally placed in the genus Hibiscus. Later, these plants were separated into an independent genus.

Description

Plants of the Abelmos genus are herbaceous tall plants that can be perennial or annual. Their strong stems rise to the heavens to a height of two meters.

Petiole leaves are very picturesque and grow in length from 10 (ten) to 40 (forty) centimeters. The lobed shape of the leaf plate transforms the leaves into a natural work of art. The number of blades is from three to seven pieces, and their shape is very different, from ovoid to lanceolate. The edge of the leaf blades is decorated with graceful denticles.

Flowers from 4 (four) to 8 (eight) centimeters in diameter have a funnel-shaped, traditional for plants of the Malvovye family, with a corolla of five white or yellow petals. At the base of each petal, the color often turns into red or purple, visually deepening the funnel of the flower.

The fruit of the plant is a capsule, the length of which in different species reaches from 5 (five) to 20 (twenty) centimeters, containing numerous seeds. In some species, the fruits are not just edible, but help improve the digestion process.

Varieties

In the Abelmos genus today, according to various sources, there are from 10 (ten) to 15 (fifteen) plant species. All species in the wild prefer tropical regions of Asia, hot Africa and the northern part of distant Australia. Let's list a few of them:

* Edible Abelmoschus (Latin Abelmoschus esculentus)

* Shaggy Abelmoschus (Latin Abelmoschus crinitus)

* Abelmoschus manihot (Latin Abelmoschus manihot)

* Abelmoschus musk (Latin Abelmoschus moschatus)

* Abelmoschus arrowhead (Latin Abelmoschus sagittifolius)

* Abelmoschus ficulneus (lat. Abelmoschus ficulneus)

* Abelmos skinny (Latin Abelmoschus angulosus).

Usage

Different species of the genus endow their parts with specific qualities that are used by humans in different cases:

* Leaves and fruits of Edible Abelmos, which is widely known under such names as "Okra", "Okra", "Ladies' fingers", "Gombo", are ranked among vegetables, and are eaten with appetite by people in different countries of the world.

* From the seeds of Abelmos musk, an essential oil is produced, which is used by the perfumery industry.

* The use of Abelmos cassava is very multifaceted:

** On the Fiji Islands, the leaves of the plant are a traditional green vegetable, extremely nutritious, high in vitamins "A" and "C", iron and protein.

** In Japan, it is used to make a starchy substance for the production of traditional Japanese paper known as "washi".

** The plant is a raw material for making rope, competing with jute ropes, but somewhat inferior to them in quality.