3246

9: Plants yielding non-seed carbohydrates

Abelmoschus crinitus Wallich

MALVACEAE

Hibiscus crinitus (Wallich) G. Don, Hibiscus cancellatus Roxburgh, Abelmoschus cancellatus (Roxburgh) Voigt.

India, Pakistan, Burma (Myanmar), Indo-China, southern China, Indonesia (Java), and the Philippines (Mindoro).

The tuberous roots are edible.

Erect herb, up to 1.5 m tall with tuber-like taproot, aboveground parts often prickly pilose. Leaves orbicular or transversely elliptical in outline, 5—7-lobed, 10—15 cm 7.5—12.5 cm, upper ones often smaller; petiole up to 18 cm long. Inflorescence consisting of solitary axillary flowers or partly racemose; epicalyx segments 10—16, linear, 2.5—5 cm long, persisting in fruit; flowers 10—12.5 cm in diameter, yellow with small purple centre. Fruit an ovoid, hispid capsule, 3.5—5 cm long, with numerous seeds. Abelmoschus crinitus is found in lowland areas subject to a pronounced dry season, in grassy fields, waste places and in teak forests, up to 200 m altitude.

[3]Backer, C.A. & Bakhuizen van den Brink Jr, R.C., 1963–1968. Flora of Java. 3 volumes. Wolters–Noordhoff, Groningen, the Netherlands. Vol. 1 (1963) 647 pp., Vol. 2 (1965) 641 pp., Vol. 3 (1968) 761 pp.
[37]Hooker, J.D., 1872–1897. Flora of British India. 7 volumes. L. Reeve, London, United Kingdom.
[79]Singh, H.B. & Arora, R.K., 1978. Wild edible plants of India. Indian Council of Agricultural Research, New Delhi. B.D. Sen at Naba Mudrad, Calcutta, India. 88 pp.
[87]van Borssum Waalkes, J., 1966. Malesian Malvaceae revised. Blumea 14(1): 1–251.

L.E. Groen, J.S. Siemonsma & P.C.M. Jansen

Groen, L.E., Siemonsma, J.S. & Jansen, P.C.M., 1996. Abelmoschus crinitus Wallich. In: Flach, M. & Rumawas, F. (Editors): Plant Resources of South-East Asia No 9: Plants yielding non-seed carbohydrates. PROSEA Foundation, Bogor, Indonesia. Database record: prota4u.org/prosea