GUMBO

gumbo, or okra, termed also _okro, ochro, ketmia, gubbo_ and syrian mallow (sans. _tindisa_, bengali _dheras_, pers. _bamiyah_--the _bammia_ of prosper alpinus; fr. _gombaut_, or better _gombo_, and _ketmie comestible_), _hibiscus esculentus_, a herbaceous hairy annual plant of the natural order _malvaceae_, probably of african origin, and now naturalized or cultivated in all tropical countries. the leaves are cordate, and 3 to 5-lobed, and the flowers yellow, with a crimson centre; the fruit or pod, the _bendi-kai_ of the europeans of southern india, is a tapering, 10-angled capsule, 4 to 10 in. in length, except in the dwarf varieties of the plant, and contains numerous oval dark-coloured seeds, hairy at the base. three distinct varieties of the gumbo (_quiabo_ and _quimgombo_) in brazil have been described by pacheco. the unripe fruit is eaten either pickled or prepared like asparagus. it is also an ingredient in various dishes, e.g. the _gumbo_ of the southern united states and the _calalou_ of jamaica; and on account of the large amount of mucilage it contains, it is extensively consumed, both fresh and in the form of the prepared powder, for the thickening of broths and soups. for winter use it is salted or sliced and dried. the fruit is grown on a very large scale in the vicinity of constantinople. it was one of the esculents of egypt in the time of abul-abbas el-nebati, who journeyed to alexandria in 1216 (wustenfeld, _gesch. d. arab. arzte_, p. 118, gott., 1840), and is still cultivated by the egyptians, who called it _bammge_. the seeds of the gumbo are used as a substitute for coffee. from their demulcent and emollient properties, the leaves and immature fruit have long been in repute in the east for the preparation of poultices and fomentations. alpinus (1592) mentions the employment of their decoction in egypt in ophthalmia and in uterine and other complaints. the musk okra (sans., _latakasturika_, cf. the gr. [greek: kastor]; bengali, _latakasturi_; ger. _bisamkornerstrauch_; fr. _ketmie musquee_), _hibiscus abelmoschus_ (_abelmoschus moschatus_), indigenous to india, and cultivated in most warm regions of the globe, is a suffruticose plant, bearing a conical 5-ridged pod about 3 in. in length, within which are numerous brown reniform seeds, smaller than those of _h. esculentus._ the seeds possess a musky odour, due to an oleo-resin present in the integument, and are known to perfumers under the name of _ambrette_ as a substitute for musk. they are said to be used by the arabs for scenting coffee. the seeds (in the fantee language, _incromahom_) are used in africa as beads; and powdered and steeped in rum they are valued in the west indies as a remedy for snakebites. the plant yields an excellent fibre, and, being rich in mucilage, is employed in upper india for the clarifying of sugar. the best-perfumed seeds are reported to come from martinique. see p. alpinus, _de plantis aegypti_, cap. xxvii. p. 38 (venice, 1592); j. sontheimer's _abd allah ibn ahmad_, &c., i. 118 (stuttgart, 1840-1842); p. p. pacheco, "la ketmie potagere ou comestible," _la belgique horticole_, iv. 63 (1853); della sudda, "de l'emploi a constantinople de la racine de l'hibiscus esculentus," _repert. de pharm._, january 1860, p. 229; e. j. waring, _pharm. of india_, p. 35 (1868); o. popp, "uber die aschenbestandteile der samen von acacia nilotica und hibiscus esculentus in agypten," _arch. der pharm._ cxcv. p. 140 (1871); drury, _the useful plants of india_, pp. 1, 2 (2nd ed., 1873); u. c. dutt, _the mat. med. of the hindus_, pp. 123, 321 (1877); lanessan, _hist. des drogues_, i. 181-184 (1878); g. watt, _dictionary of the economic products of india_ (1890).