Okra
Fun Facts
Plant Family: Malvaceae
Botanical Name: Abelmoschus esculentus (also Hibiscus esculentus)
Botanical Origin: East Africa (debatably, but likely somewhere in Abyssinian center, including Ethiopia, Eritrea, eastern Sudan)
Common Names: bhindi (India, other South Asian countries), gumbo (southern U.S.), ladies finger, okra, gombo
Edible Parts: Okra is amazingly versatile. The immature fruit is most commonly eaten, but the leaves, flowers, and mature seeds are all edible.
Okra is a crop that is near and dear to Chris Smith’s (USP Founder) heart. In 2019 Chris published a book titled The Whole Okra: A Seed to Stem Celebration. His work with okra included variety exploration, seed saving, and food celebration. In many ways the Utopian Seed Project grew out of Chris’ work with okra, and USP now explores and celebrates a wide range of crop diversity.
Okra is a crop that has a lot of potential in our hot and humid growing conditions, and well as a long cultural history across the southeast USA (and Africa and Asia, who each share a claim to okra’s botanical heritage). USP continues to explore varietal diversity, but has also embarked on some breeding projects to develop a higher oil seed okra and some unique phenotypes.
