Edible Hibiscus (Abelmoschus manihot) By Paula Szilard In Honolulu in the community gardens where I once had a vegetable plot, many gardeners including me grew edible hibiscus plants with pale yellow flowers and dark red/brown centers—attractive but not approaching the stunning beauty of the ornamental hibiscuses we all know. Originally from south or southeast Asia, edible hibiscus, or Abelmoschus manihot is widely used in the islands of the Pacific, particularly in the Melanesian archipelago (New Guinea, Solomon Islands, Fiji, Vanuatu and New Caledonia). Researchers think that it was probably first cultivated there because so many distinct varieties are found in this area. This plant goes by literally dozens of names in many Pacific island languages. It is commonly known as Aibika and Bele in Micronesia. This plant was placed into the genus Hibiscus, the subsection Abelmoschus by Linnaeus, but in 1787 a botanist named Medikus proposed that this group of plants be made a separate genus and it’s been so ever since. It was introduced into Europe around 1712 from India and is listed in an American seed catalog dated 1806. The leaves of the many varieties are highly variable. Some are heart shaped, some spear shaped, and some are palmate with 3, 5 or 7-lobed similar to the maple leaf, but often more deeply cut. The parts of the plant that are eaten are the young leaves and shoots, which are cooked, baked or stir fried and which exude a gelatinous substance similar to okra. In fact, this plant is in the same genus as okra, Abelmoschus esculentus. In the Pacific, a favorite preparation method is to cook it in coconut milk. In Hawaii, my favorite way to prepare edible hibiscus was to stir fry it in Asian sesame oil in a wok, with a couple of cloves of pressed garlic. After they were cooked tender, I added a small amount of low-sodium soy sauce and a very small amount of water. It was delicious, but you have to enjoy the mucilaginous texture. In the ground in warm climates (Zones 8-10), it is a perennial growing to 6 ft or taller. In mild temperate climates with some winter frosts, it dies back to the ground and grows back from the underground parts.  Abelmoschus manihot thrives in full sun to part shade and well drained garden loam. It does not do well in highly alkaline soils, however. In cold climates like ours you can plant it in your garden as an annual, or better yet, grow it in a large pot to customize soil and control size. Fertilize with a nitrogen-rich fertilizer for larger leaves and better yields. Although these plants have the usual complement of diseases and pests, they don’t seem to be bothered by them so far from their natural habitat. Edible hibiscus is a nutrition powerhouse. When compared to cold climate greens such as cooked spinach, cooked edible hibiscus has much more of everything that’s good for us. It’s got twice as much protein as spinach, not insignificant in parts of the world where protein sources are scarce or expensive, nearly twice the vitamin A, more fiber and nearly as much vitamin C as a small banana (when cooked, mind you!) It contains over twice the amount of riboflavin, nearly twice the thiamine and a lot more of several of the minerals, including iron, potassium and calcium. Convinced yet? There are important traditional medicinal uses as well. Westerners may scoff, but native peoples of Micronesia use it to cure colds, sore throats, dysentery, diarrhea and skin rashes. They also use it to control fertility, to induce abortions, and paradoxically, to ease childbirth. It is said pregnant women don’t use it to avoid aborting. Modern medicine has not been idle, though. Researchers have found antiviral activity in extracts from this plant, discovered it reduces bone loss in rats, and have established that an ethanol extract of the plant has anticonvulsant and antidepressant properties. This plant can be propagated from seed, or from stem cuttings, which can be rooted in water if this is changed daily and is kept in a shady spot. When planting the cuttings, bury 2-6 of the nodes for extra bushiness. Rooting hormone is generally unnecessary, but allow the stems to callus over for about 24 hours. People who don’t want to go to this much trouble may be able to find plants on line. I purchased my seeds from the Thomas Jefferson Center for Historic Plants at Monticello. They have a very hard seed coat, which must be filed or knicked to allow moisture to penetrate for quicker germination. If you don’t do this, it could take months for the seeds to germinate. I took a fine pruning shears and cautiously snipped into one end of the seed with the tip. I planted the seeds in April and they germinated in a little over a week. I put one in a large pot and a second one in the ground in my front edible landscape. Two months later, the potted one is about 1 1/2 ft tall and is starting to flower, while the one planted out into the garden is much smaller. Soon I hope to be cooking up the greens! Sources : Toensmeier, Eric. Perennial Vegetables. White River Junction, VY: Chelsea Green Publishing, 2007. Preston, Stephen R. et al. Aibika/Bele. Abelmoschus manihot (L) Medik. Rome, Italy: International Plant Genetic Resource Institute, 1998. (Promoting the Conservation and Use of Underutilized and Neglected Crops No. 24) Full text found on: www.biodiversityinternational.org.

Edible Hibiscus

(Abelmoschus manihot)

Paula Szilard

In Honolulu in the community gardens where I once had a vegetable plot, many gardeners including me grew edible hibiscus plants with pale yellow flowers and dark red/brown centers—attractive but not approaching the stunning beauty of the ornamental hibiscuses we all know. Originally from south or southeast Asia, edible hibiscus, or Abelmoschus manihot is widely used in the islands of the Pacific, particularly in the Melanesian archipelago (New Guinea, Solomon Islands, Fiji, Vanuatu and New Caledonia). Researchers think that it was probably first cultivated there because so many distinct varieties are found in this area. This plant goes by literally dozens of names in many Pacific island languages. It is commonly known as Aibika and Bele in Micronesia.

This plant was placed into the genus Hibiscus, the subsection Abelmoschus by Linnaeus, but in 1787 a botanist named Medikus proposed that this group of plants be made a separate genus and it’s been so ever since. It was introduced into Europe around 1712 from India and is listed in an American seed catalog dated 1806. The leaves of the many varieties are highly variable. Some are heart shaped, some spear shaped, and some are palmate with 3, 5 or 7-lobed similar to the maple leaf, but often more deeply cut.

The parts of the plant that are eaten are the young leaves and shoots, which are cooked, baked or stir fried and which exude a gelatinous substance similar to okra. In fact, this plant is in the same genus as okra, Abelmoschus esculentus. In the Pacific, a favorite preparation method is to cook it in coconut milk. In Hawaii, my favorite way to prepare edible hibiscus was to stir fry it in Asian sesame oil in a wok, with a couple of cloves of pressed garlic. After they were cooked tender, I added a small amount of low-sodium soy sauce and a very small amount of water. It was delicious, but you have to enjoy the mucilaginous texture.

In the ground in warm climates (Zones 8-10), it is a perennial growing to 6 ft or taller. In mild temperate climates with some winter frosts, it dies back to the ground and grows back from the underground parts.

Abelmoschus manihot thrives in full sun to part shade and well drained garden loam. It does not do well in highly alkaline soils, however. In cold climates like ours you can plant it in your garden as an annual, or better yet, grow it in a large pot to customize soil and control size. Fertilize with a nitrogen-rich fertilizer for larger leaves and better yields. Although these plants have the usual complement of diseases and pests, they don’t seem to be bothered by them so far from their natural habitat.

Edible hibiscus is a nutrition powerhouse. When compared to cold climate greens such as cooked spinach, cooked edible hibiscus has much more of everything that’s good for us. It’s got twice as much protein as spinach, not insignificant in parts of the world where protein sources are scarce or expensive, nearly twice the vitamin A, more fiber and nearly as much vitamin C as a small banana (when cooked, mind you!) It contains over twice the amount of riboflavin, nearly twice the thiamine and a lot more of several of the minerals, including iron, potassium and calcium. Convinced yet?

There are important traditional medicinal uses as well. Westerners may scoff, but native peoples of Micronesia use it to cure colds, sore throats, dysentery, diarrhea and skin rashes. They also use it to control fertility, to induce abortions, and paradoxically, to ease childbirth. It is said pregnant women don’t use it to avoid aborting. Modern medicine has not been idle, though. Researchers have found antiviral activity in extracts from this plant, discovered it reduces bone loss in rats, and have established that an ethanol extract of the plant has anticonvulsant and antidepressant properties.

This plant can be propagated from seed, or from stem cuttings, which can be rooted in water if this is changed daily and is kept in a shady spot. When planting the cuttings, bury 2-6 of the nodes for extra bushiness. Rooting hormone is generally unnecessary, but allow the stems to callus over for about 24 hours. People who don’t want to go to this much trouble may be able to find plants on line.

I purchased my seeds from the Thomas Jefferson Center for Historic Plants at Monticello. They have a very hard seed coat, which must be filed or knicked to allow moisture to penetrate for quicker germination. If you don’t do this, it could take months for the seeds to germinate. I took a fine pruning shears and cautiously snipped into one end of the seed with the tip. I planted the seeds in April and they germinated in a little over a week.

I put one in a large pot and a second one in the ground in my front edible landscape. Two months later, the potted one is about 1 1/2 ft tall and is starting to flower, while the one planted out into the garden is much smaller. Soon I hope to be cooking up the greens!

Sources :

Toensmeier, Eric. Perennial Vegetables. White River Junction, VY: Chelsea Green Publishing, 2007.

Preston, Stephen R. et al. Aibika/Bele. Abelmoschus manihot (L) Medik. Rome, Italy: International Plant Genetic Resource Institute, 1998. (Promoting the Conservation and Use of Underutilized and Neglected Crops No. 24) Full text found on: www.biodiversityinternational.org.