Okra (US: /ˈoʊkrə/, UK: /ˈɒkrə/), Abelmoschus esculentus, known in some English-speaking countries as lady's fingers,[2][3] is a flowering plant in the mallow family native to East Africa.

[4] Cultivated in tropical, subtropical, and warm temperate regions around the world for its edible green seed pods, okra is featured in the cuisines of many countries.

[8] The word gumbo was first used in American English around 1805, derived from Louisiana Creole,[9] but originates from either Umbundu: ochinggõmbo[10] or Kimbundu: kingombo.

[citation needed] One of the earliest accounts is by Abu al-Abbas al-Nabati, who visited Ayyubid Egypt in 1216 and described the plant under cultivation by the locals who ate the tender young pods with meal.

[16] The plant was introduced to the Americas by ships plying the Atlantic slave trade[17] by 1658, when its presence was recorded in Brazil.

[4] Abelmoschus esculentus is cultivated throughout the tropical and warm temperate regions of the world for its fibrous fruits or pods containing round, white seeds.

It is among the most heat- and drought-tolerant vegetable species in the world and will tolerate soils with heavy clay and intermittent moisture, but frost can damage the pods.

As a tropical plant, it also requires a lot of sunlight, and it should also be cultivated in soil that has a pH between 5.8 and 7, ideally on the acidic side.

The seed pods rapidly become fibrous and woody and, to be edible as a vegetable, must be harvested when immature, usually within a week of pollination.

Other diseases include powdery mildew in dry tropical regions, leaf spots, yellow mosaic and root-knot nematodes.

Resistance to yellow mosaic virus in A. esculentus was transferred through a cross with Abelmoschus manihot and resulted in a new variety called Parbhani kranti.

[22] In 2021, world production of okra was 10.8 million tonnes, led by India with 60% of the total, with Nigeria and Mali as secondary producers.

In South Asia, the pods are used in many spicy vegetable preparations as well as cooked with beef, mutton, lamb and chicken.