What is the Botanical Name of Lady’s Finger?
The scientific name of Lady’s Finger is Abelmoschus esculentus. The genus of the plant is Abelmoschus, and the family is Malvaceae.
- The plant has variable lengths, ranging from 0.5 to 0.4 meters with 10 to 20 cm long leaves.
- The leaves contain 5 to 7 palmately lobes.
- Lady’s Finger plants belong to the Malvaceae family which relates the plant to cocoa, cotton, and hibiscus, etc.
- Ladys Finger plants are characterized by their intermediate growth. Its stems are hairy, robust with variable branching.
- Flowers of this plant are whitish-yellow colored with red or purple spots with a diameter of 4 to 8 cm.
- They contain spherical pollen with an approx. 188 microns.
- The pods can grow up to 18 cm and contain white seeds.
- Lady’s Finger plants are the explosive spreaders. In the mature stage, the pods explode on their own.
- The seeds spread several feet away from the plant which gives birth to a new plant.
Botanical Name of Lady’s Finger
The Botanical name of Lady’s Finger is Abelmoschus esculentus. It is a native flowering plant of East Africa and belongs to the mallow family. The fruit is popularly known as okra or orcho and is mistakenly considered a vegetable. There are so many regional names like “Bhindi”, “Dhenras”, etc. but the origin of the Lady’s Finger is disputed. People say that Lady’s Finger originated from either the Abyssinian center or Ethiopia or the higher part of the Anglo-Egyptian Sudan.
Table of Content
- What is the Botanical Name of Lady’s Finger?
- Biological Classification of Lady’s Finger
- Cultivation of Lady’s Finger
- Nutritional Contents and Health Benefits of Lady’s Finger
- Uses of Lady’s Finger