Transverse section of the fruit of the Lady's fingers or okra plant,Abelmoschus esculentus. Okra is native to tropical Africa,but has spread widely throughout the tropics. It is a coarse annual plant with large veiny leaves and showy axillary flowers. It bears slender 5-ribbed pods (seen here),which are eaten as a vegetable or used in soups & salads. Ripe okra seed contains about 20% of an edible oil. Mucilage from the stem & roots is used for clarifying sugarcane juice in gur manufacture (unrefined sweet sugar) in India & for sizing paper in China. A low quality fibre is also obtained from the stem | |
Licence : | Droits gérés |
Crédit: | Science Photo Library / Spears, David |
Taille de l’image : | 3847 px × 2541 px |
Model Release : | Non requis |
Property Release : | Non requis |
Restrictions : | - |