Abelmoschus crinitus Wall.

Abelmoschus species are herbs, undershrubs or small trees. Branches with simple prickly or stellate hairs. Leaves alternate, palmately lobed or palmilobed, usually sagittate to hastate with to-parted segments or pennilobed, margins crenate-dentate, rarely entire, coriaceous, petiolate, stipulate. Inflorescence axillary or terminal, solitary or cymes. Flowers bisexual, pedicel slender, inarticulate, epicalyx 4-16, free, base rarely connate, persistent to caducous, calyx 5 lobed or toothed at tip, base connate, valvate, corolla large, 5, yellow with dark purple, white or pink. Stamens indefinite, monadelphous, forming an epipetalous staminal tube united with corolla, filament short, introrse, anthers basifixed, throughout. Ovary superior, 5 locular, ovules many, style 1, 5 branched distally, stigma discoid. Fruit capsule, ovoid to cylindric, apex beaked or mucronate, dehiscent with longitudinal slits towards the base. Seed many, reniform or globose, smooth.

Flowering class: Dicot Habit: Herb Distribution notes: Exotic

Flowering and fruiting: July-December

Abelmoschus species flowers are complete, bisexual, i.e., with functional male (androecium) and female (gynoecium), including stamens, carpels and ovary. Pollination is entomophilous i.e., by insects, or cleistogamy i.e., by self or allogamy i.e., by cross pollination. Flowering/Fruiting: July—December.

Seeds may be dispersed by autochory i.e., self dispersal, anemochory i.e., wind dispersal, zoochory i.e., dispersal by birds or animals, anthropochory i.e., dispersal by humans.

Herbs, about 0.5-1.5 m tall. Roots somewhat tuber-like tap root. Stems, branches with simple shiny prickly or stellate hairs when young, later becoming glabrescent. Leaves alternate, palmately lobed or palmiparted, deeply cordate, about 5-15 cm across, base cordate, 5-7 nerved, usually lobes apex acute or acuminate, about 3-7, ovate-triangular, margins crenate-serrate, rarely entire, hirsute with stiff simple hairs both above and beneath, becoming glabrescent later, coriaceous, petiole slender, hirsute with simple hairs, about 0.5-12 cm long, stipules linear-filiform, about 1-3 cm long. Inflorescence axillary or terminal, solitary. Flowers bisexual, pedicel slender, hirsute, inarticulate, epicalyx 4-5, free, base rarely connate, segments linear, hairy, about 10-16 x 2-5 mm across, calyx 5 lobed, base connate, valvate, membranous, densely tomentose or puberulous, about 3 cm long, corolla large, 5, yellow and centre with dark purple, obovate-obovoid, glabrous, about 2 x 5 cm across. Stamens indefinite, monadelphous, forming an epipetalous staminal tube united with corolla, filament short, introrse, anthers basifixed, throughout. Ovary superior, 5 locular, ovules many, style 1, stigma discoid. Fruit capsule, ovoid-globose, about 2-4 x 2-3 cm across, apex beaked or acuminate, dehiscent with longitudinal slits towards the base, densely hirsute with simple hairs. Seed many, reniform or globose, rusty tomentose, rarely glabrous, black.

Abelmoschus species are susceptible to various insect pests, virus and fungi, affecting leaves, fruits and roots.

Notes: Deciduous forests and wastelands

Deciduous forests and wastelands

Tropical and subtropical evergreen forests.

Not evaluated (IUCN).

Used in folk medicine.