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Sweet Hibiscus
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Sweet Hibiscus
ative Photo: Dinesh Valke
Common name: Sweet Hibiscus, Edible Hibiscus, Manihot-mallow, Sunset Hibiscus, Yellow Hibiscus • Hindi: जंगली भिंडी jungli bhindi • Marathi: रान भेंडी raan bhendi • Assamese: Usipak • Gujarati: કાંટાલૉ ભેંડે kantalo bhende • Mizo: Ui-chhu-me
Botanical name: Abelmoschus manihot    Family: Malvaceae (Mallow family)
Synonyms: Hibiscus manihot

Sweet Hibiscus is characterized by big and glorious, 5-6 inch across, pale yellow Hibiscus type flowers with deep burgundy & garnet eyes. Growing to 5 feet tall, this stout and almost woody annual bears magnificent, tropical looking leaves, and so it looks cool even before it blooms mid-summer. There can be big differences in leaf shape, colour and production and flavour but leaves are usually palmate, about 4 inches across. It grows very quickly. Cuttings taken in spring can reach over 2 metres by autumn in sub-tropical areas. While the large yellow flowers are very ornamental, the importance of this plant is that it is one of the world's most nutritious leafy vegetables because of its high protein content. The leaves are tender and sweet and can be served raw or steamed

Identification credit: Dinesh Valke Photographed at Thane, Maharashtra.

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