Vegetable Seed Production
Family: Malvaceae

Common Name: Okra Scientific Name: Abelmoschus esculentus (L) Moench Family: Malvaceae Malvaceae (Mallow Family)

Okra introduction & history

• Okra is thought to have originated in Abyssinia or what is presently Ethiopia and the upper Nile River Region of Sudan
• Records of okra production date to 12th century Egypt where it was widely grown
• Over time, okra moved from North Africa to the eastern Mediterranean and India
• Okra was introduced into U.S. via French colonists and/or from Brazil which was initially supplied probably from African slave movement

Okra Seed Production and Identification page