Family:
Malvaceae Juss.

Abelmoschus Medik.

This genus is accepted, and its native range is E. Tropical Africa to Madagascar, S. China, Tropical Asia to N. Queensland.

[FSOM]

M. Thulin et al. Flora of Somalia Vol. 1-4 [updated 2008] https://plants.jstor.org/collection/FLOS

Morphology General Habit
Annual or perennial herbs or undershrubs
Morphology Leaves
Leaves palmately lobed or divided; stipules filiform
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers
Flowers solitary, axillary or in terminal racemes
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Epicalyx
Epicalyx of 4 to many bracts, usually soon falling
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Calyx
Calyx 5-toothed at the apex, splitting on one side during the expansion of the corolla, circumscissile at the base, adnate to the corolla and falling with it
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Gynoecium Ovary
Ovary 5-celled; ovules many; style indistinctly 5-branched
Morphology Reproductive morphology Fruits
Fruit an elongate loculicidal capsule.
Distribution
About thirteen species in tropical Asia, one of which extends to tropical Africa.

[FZ]

Malvaceae, A. W. Exell. Flora Zambesiaca 1:2. 1961

Morphology General Habit
Annual or perennial herbs.
Morphology Leaves
Leaves palmately lobed or divided (rarely almost entire).
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers
Flowers solitary, axillary or in terminal racemes by reduction of the upper leaves.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Epicalyx
Epicalyx of 6–numerous filiform or linear bracteoles or much reduced and very caducous.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Calyx
Calyx thin, splitting laterally, circumscissile, slightly joined to the base of the corolla and deciduous with it.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Androecium Stamens
Staminal tube as in Hibiscus.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Gynoecium Pistil
Ovary 5-locular, loculi pluriovulate; style not manifestly branched, with 5 sessile or subsessile capitate stigmas.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Fruits
Capsule elongated, oblong or ellipsoid.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Seeds
Seeds with minute stellate hairs and sometimes also pilose.

[FTEA]

Malvaceae, Bernard Verdcourt & Geoffrey Mwachala. Pavonia, B Verdcourt; Kosteletzkya, OJ Blanchard Jr.; Gossypium, P Fryxell & B Verdcourt. Flora of Tropical East Africa. 2009

Morphology General Habit
Annual or perennial herbs or subshrubs
Morphology Leaves
Leaves usually palmately 3–5-lobed; stipules subulate or linear, deciduous
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers
Flowers solitary or in terminal pseudoracemes due to reduction of the leaves
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Epicalyx
Epicalyx lobes 4–16, free or basally connate, persistent or deciduous
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Calyx
Calyx adnate to corolla, spathaceous, irregularly splitting into 2–5 lobes or teeth during anthesis, circumscissile at base, falling together with the corolla
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Corolla
Corolla white, pinkish or yellow with purple centre
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Androecium Stamens
Staminal column with anthers all over
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Gynoecium Ovary
Ovary pubescent, 5-locular, each locule with many ovules
Morphology Reproductive morphology Fruits
Capsule oblong-ellipsoid or fusiform-cylindrical, loculicidally dehiscent, remaining attached to receptacle
Morphology Reproductive morphology Seeds
Seeds reniform, glabrous or hairy.

[FSOM]
Use
Other species are cultivated for their edible fruits.

Native to:

Assam, Bangladesh, Bismarck Archipelago, Borneo, Cambodia, China North-Central, China South-Central, China Southeast, Christmas I., East Himalaya, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Hainan, India, Jawa, Kenya, Laos, Lesser Sunda Is., Madagascar, Malaya, Maluku, Mozambique, Myanmar, Nepal, New Guinea, Pakistan, Philippines, Queensland, Somalia, Sri Lanka, Sulawesi, Sumatera, Taiwan, Tanzania, Thailand, Uganda, Vietnam, West Himalaya, Zambia

Introduced into:

Alabama, Albania, Aldabra, Andaman Is., Angola, Bahamas, Belize, Benin, Bulgaria, Burkina, Cabinda, Cameroon, Cape Verde, Caroline Is., Cayman Is., Central African Repu, Chad, Comoros, Congo, Cook Is., Costa Rica, Cuba, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Fiji, Florida, Gabon, Gambia, Georgia, Ghana, Greece, Guatemala, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Gulf of Guinea Is., Haiti, Hawaii, Honduras, Illinois, Ivory Coast, Jamaica, Kazan-retto, Korea, Krym, KwaZulu-Natal, Leeward Is., Liberia, Line Is., Louisiana, Maldives, Mali, Marianas, Marshall Is., Mauritania, Mexico Central, Mexico Southwest, Mississippi, Nansei-shoto, New Caledonia, Nicobar Is., Niger, Nigeria, Niue, North Carolina, Northern Provinces, Ogasawara-shoto, Oman, Peru, Puerto Rico, Romania, Réunion, Samoa, Santa Cruz Is., Senegal, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, Society Is., Solomon Is., South Carolina, South European Russi, Southwest Caribbean, Sudan, Togo, Tonga, Trinidad-Tobago, Tuamotu, Tubuai Is., Ukraine, Vanuatu, Venezuela, Venezuelan Antilles, Virginia, Wallis-Futuna Is., Windward Is., Zaïre, Zimbabwe

Abelmoschus Medik. appears in other Kew resources:

First published in Malvenfam.: 45 (1787)

Accepted by

  • Govaerts, R. (1995). World Checklist of Seed Plants 1(1, 2): 1-483, 529. MIM, Deurne.

Literature

Flora Zambesiaca

  • Malv.-Fam.: 45 (1787).

Flora of Somalia

  • Flora Somalia, Vol 2, (1999) Author: by M. Thulin [updated by M. Thulin 2008]

Flora of Tropical East Africa

  • Blumea 1 14: 89–105 (1966)
  • Malven-Fam.: 45 (1787)

  • Flora Zambesiaca

    Flora Zambesiaca
    http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0

  • Flora of Somalia

    Flora of Somalia
    http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0

  • Flora of Tropical East Africa

    Flora of Tropical East Africa
    http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0

  • Kew Backbone Distributions

    The International Plant Names Index and World Checklist of Selected Plant Families 2022. Published on the Internet at http://www.ipni.org and http://apps.kew.org/wcsp/
    © Copyright 2017 World Checklist of Selected Plant Families. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0

  • Kew Names and Taxonomic Backbone

    The International Plant Names Index and World Checklist of Selected Plant Families 2022. Published on the Internet at http://www.ipni.org and http://apps.kew.org/wcsp/
    © Copyright 2017 International Plant Names Index and World Checklist of Selected Plant Families. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0

  • Kew Science Photographs

    Copyright applied to individual images