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| Florida Permaculture Garden Okra, also know as Quimbombo, is a member of the Mallow Family |
The history of any food, fiber or medicinal plant is just as important as the more procedural oriented gardening principles found in permaculture growing manuals. Recalling our discussion of the existence of an infinite variety of edges and perimeters in the garden, the history of each garden plant is also an edge; one separating plant history and time. An understanding of garden plant's paleoethnobotanical story adds layers of rich dimensions that in turn enrich our intelligence and appreciation of all we grow. This increased appreciation for where our survival garden plants have come from and how they have arrived in our garden translates into more attention, greater care for and higher yields from these important plants.
Our garden plants are, in many ways, like close friends and family. They have important stories we should listen to and they long to be appreciated.
Back to okra. Throughout history okra has traveled far and wide, sometimes purposely hidden away and other times as openly traded in the market.
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| Florida Permaculture Garden Okra Pods Ready for Daily Harvest |
And okra has had, like many plants, a variety of cultural names. The name familiar to most of us, 'okra', has roots in the Nigerian Igbo language, where the plant is/was referred to as 'okuru'. Another name we are all familiar with is Creole term 'gumbo'. Gumbo's nomenclature derives from the Angolan term for the plant, 'ngombo'. Other worldwide names have included; bamia (French), bhindi (Indian), quimbombo (West Indies Spanish), ochro (English derivation of the Igbo term 'okuru', and Lady's Fingers.
Today we view okra as a staple vegetable that has always been here in the grocery store produce section or perhaps in a jar of pickling vinegar and spices on the condiment isle. However few realize the storied past tale of this member of the mallow family.
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| Okra's flowers, leaves and seed pods are a staple food source in many cultures |
As a member of the mallow family along with hibiscus and cotton, okra is a plant with strong mucilaginous properties. Most mallow leaves and seed pods when boiled in water release exopolysaccharide compounds that retain water with a thick, gooey consistency. Okra will thicken soups and gumbos when their leaves and pods are added to the stewing pot of vegetables.
Paleoethnobotanists tell us from their studies of ancient village sites that okra originally grew along the upper banks of the Nile River in what is now Ethiopia. From Ethiopia traders brought okra into Arabia and across the entire Mediterranean and West Africa. I can easily imagine peoples living along the Nile 10,000 years ago foraging for and harvesting okra pods, flowers and leaves for gumbos and salads, just like we do today.
Okra made its way to the Americas during the slave trade of the seventeenth century where the plant is mentioned in Brazilian records around 1650. I've read accounts where Africans chained in ships hulls would hide okra seeds on their bodies so as to have this important plant once they reached land.
Okra was soon established as a food, fiber and medicinal plant in the Caribbean, particularly in Cuba where it was commonly known as quimbombo. Lydia Cabrera, the renown ethnobotanist who wrote one of my favorite tropical plant use books, El Monte, often associated quimbombo with the gods Chango and Oya, and noted the dislike witches had of okra because the plant's slippery mucilage kept spells from sticking to the intended target. According to some, okra infused baths are one way to ward off bad spells.
From the Caribbean, the plant moved up the Mississippi and U.S. east coast into North America. Today okra is grown worldwide and the edible pod is a staple food for many cultures.
Okra pods, leaves and flowers can be fried, sauteed, boiled and stewed. From Creole spice to Indian Bhindi Masala, okra dishes are becoming more popular as a favorite cuisine. One of my favorite simple okra recipes involves sauteing sliced pods in ghee with turmeric powder, salt and ground black pepper.
Roasted and ground okra seeds are also used to make a popular decaffeinated coffee substitute beverage. During the American civil war, roasted okra seed beverage was the norm with troops when South American coffee was unavailable.
Okra delivers daily food throughout the hot humid summer months here. We pick the pods when they are about three or four inches long for tenderness.
We do make sure our okra plants receive regular adequate irrigation, especially in times of drought.
I find interesting the fact that okra flowers (they do look like a hibiscus) will close at night and reopen in the morning, a plant process known as nyctinasty.
Our okra likes some organic material for sure but will grow fairly well in our sandy soils as long as there is adequate water. Once we add chicken yard compost around the base of the plant the okra will shoot up fast.
Okra has not always existed here in Florida. The plant in human hands has journeyed from eastern Africa across the Mediterranean to the Americas. Much of the paleoethnobotanical history of okra involves not only the pleasure of food but the suffering of a great number of peoples.
Our Florida permaculture survival garden is multidimensional in many ways. Understanding the edges of plant history gives new meaning to that which grows here, for the DNA of our okra plants carries the winds and cries of countless past voices.
We add our voice of gratitude to the leaves, flowers and seeds of quimbombo; to the DNA of our okra and hope others now and in the future enjoy the storied and delicious nourishment found in this mallow.
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