Aibika, Edible Hibiscus
Abelmoschus manihot

Family: Malvaceae

What it is like

A shrub or small tree. It grows 5 m tall. There are prickles along the stem. The leaves are twice divided and there are 8-18 pairs of pinnae. There are up to 50 pairs of pinnules on each pinnae. The flowers are yellow. They are in large clusters at the ends of branches. The pods are flattened.

There are about 15 Abelmoschus species. They are tropical and subtropical. It is high in folates.

Where it is found

A tropical plant. It is well suited to the tropical lowlands but grows only poorly at 1800 metres. It needs fertile soil. The plant occurs in countries from India, China, Japan, Malaysia and Indonesia to the Pacific Islands. Plants will withstand occasional short-lived temperatures down to about -5°C so long as they are in a very well-drained soil. It suits areas with high humidity. It does not do well on atoll soils. It grows in humid places in Africa usually between 12°N and 12°S. It does best in well drained sandy loams. It suits hardiness zones 10-12. Hobart Botanical Gardens. In Sichuan and Yunnan.

Countries/locations it is found in

Africa, Andorra, Asia, Australia, Benin, Bhutan, Bougainville, Cameroon, Central Africa, Congo DR, China, Cook Islands, Côte d'Ivoire, East Africa, East Timor, Fiji, FSM, Gabon, Guinea, Guinée, Haiti, Hawaii, Himalayas, India, Indochina, Indonesia, Ivory Coast, Japan, Kiribati, Korea, Laos, Liberia, Malaysia, Micronesia, Mozambique, Myanmar, Nauru, Nepal, Niger, Nigeria, North America, Northeastern India, Pacific, Pakistan, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Philippines, Pohnpei, Rotuma, Sahel, Samoa, SE Asia, Sierra Leone, Sikkim, Slovenia, Solomon Islands, Taiwan, Tanzania, Tasmania, Thailand, Timor-Leste, Togo, Tokelau, Tonga, Tuvalu, Uganda, USA, Vanuatu, Vietnam, West Africa, West Indies, West Papua

How it is used for food

Young leaves are cooked and eaten. They are slimy unless steamed or fried. They can be eaten with papaya leaves to remove the bitterness of the papaya. The root is boiled with pork to make a broth. The young fruit are cooked and eaten. They can be dried and also ground to a powder. The fruit make dishes go slimy.

The most important edible leafy green in coastal areas of Papua New Guinea, the Pacific and SE Asia. They are an important vegetable in Africa. It is a commercially cultivated vegetable. Leaves are sold in local markets.

Edible parts

Leaves, flower buds, vegetable, root, fruit, pods

How it is grown

It is grown from cuttings. Cuttings with 2-3 nodes are sufficient. It can be grown from seeds. The narrow leafed types tend to compete less well with weeds. In some areas people tend to put the narrow leafed types in the middle of the garden, intercropped with sweet potato, and the broad leafed kinds near stumps or logs and around the edges of gardens. The pale green leafed kinds that occur only grow very slowly. Aibika is normally grown from cuttings. Lengths of about 25 cm (2 or 3 leaf joints or "nodes") of fresh green stem cuttings are used. These are simply stuck in the ground. A fertile soil is needed. Therefore Aibika can be planted in good soil in a newly cleared garden site, or it can be planted near houses where the soil fertility can be built up by adding scraps and compost and ashes. The growth and colour of Aibika leaves can be improved greatly by spraying the leaves each 2 or 3 weeks with a very small amount of the nitrogen fertiliser called urea, dissolved in water. (A 0.5% solution). This uses less fertiliser than putting it on the ground where it can wash away in the rain. Picking out the tips off branches of Aibika plants encourages the plant to produce more branches and therefore more leaves. But when you are harvesting leaves, you should not pick too many off the one bush at the one time. This is because it slows down the growth of more leaves. If the soil is very fertile, older bushes, which are only growing a few leaves, can be chopped off. The stump left in the ground can then re-grow into a new bush.

Leaves are ready to harvest after about 80 days. Yields of 6.7-7.3 tons/ha/crop have been recorded. It flowers in 50-110 days. This gets longer with increasing daylength. Plants can take 4 to 12 months until fruit are ready. Production can continue to an extended time.

Its other names

Local names

Aelan kapis, Alek, Asa alek, Aso, Baera, Baero, Bamia, Ban nalu, Barakue, Bele, Dahk pool, De’e, Degi, Egarani, Ga-ana, Geba wagia, Gabe, Gedi, Glikway, Gnahi, Hapia, Huang shu kui, Huangqiu kui, Huwshiy, Jangali bhindi, Kena, Kon-kado, Kookona, Lagikway, Lata lasturi, Lema, Lope, Nambere, Nating saluyot, Neka, Ngache, Nibi, Nyahi, Olsumbe, Pangai, Paura, Pele, Po-fai, Qiu kui, Ran Bhendi, Sa are, Slimy cabbage, Slippery cabbage, Some, Soragele, Takaiya, Thakhlao maikhri gajao, Totomu, Usipak, Van lasun, Vati, Vauvau, Vauvau vati, Waci, Weko, West African Okra

Synonyms

Abelmoschus caillei (A. Chev.) Stevels; Abelmoschus platidactylus (Bakh.) Nakai; Abelmoschus pseudomanihot (DC.) Endl.; Hibiscus manihot L.; Hibiscus manihot var. caillei A. Chev.; Hibiscus pungens Roxb.;