Abelmoschus manihot (L.) Medik.

 
  • Family : MALVACEAE
    (Mallow Or Hibiscus Family)
  • Family (Hindi name) : GURHAL FAMILY (गुड़हल फैमिली)
  • Family (as per The APG System III) : Malvaceae
  • Basionym : Hibiscus manihot L.
  • Synonym(s) : Abelmoschus manihot subsp. manihot
  • Species Name (as per The IPNI) : Abelmoschus manihot (L.) Medik.
  • Common name : Edible Hibiscus
  • Vernacular name :
    • Jungli Bhendi (Hindi)
    • Kaadu Bendekaai (Kannada)
    • Ram-bhendi (Marathi)
  • Habit : Undershrub or shrub
  • Habitat : Tropical moist deciduous forests, road sides, wasteland, Shady hill slopes
  • Comments / notes : Occasional on hilly slopes. Cultivated as vegetable mainly in Southeast Asia.
  • Key identification features : Annual subglabrous herbs; Leaves deeply palmately lobed; Flowers yellow with a purple centre; Capsule oblong, pointed.
  • Flower, Fruit : September-February
  • Distribution :
    • Karnataka : Chikkamagaluru district, Hassan district, Shivamogga district, Uttara Kannada district
    • Kerala : Kasaragod district, Kannur district, Kozhikode district, Malappuram district, Thrissur district, Idukki district, Kottayam district, Pathanamthitta district, Kollam district, Thiruvananthapuram district
    • Maharashtra : Akola district, Nagpur district, Mumbai Suburban district, Bhandara district, Buldhana district, Chandrapur district, Dhule district, Nashik district, Osmanabad district, Raigad district, Ratnagiri district, Pune district, Ahmednagar district
    • Odisha : Khordha district
    • Tamil Nadu : Kolli Hills (Namakkal district), Shevaroy Hills (Salem district), Tirunelveli district, Villipuram district, Cuddalore district
    • Uttarakhand : Uttarakhand
    • Sikkim : Sikkim
    • Himachal Pradesh : Kinnaur district
    • Arunachal Pradesh : Arunachal Pradesh
    • Meghalaya : Meghalaya
    • Assam : Assam
    • Nagaland : Nagaland
    • Uttar Pradesh : Uttar Pradesh
    • Jammu and Kashmir : Jammu and Kashmir
    • Mizoram : Mizoram
    • Manipur : Manipur
    • Tripura : Tripura
  • Native : Australia, Bangladesh, Bismarck Archipelago, Bhutan, China, Christmas Island, India, Jawa, Laos, Lesser Sunda Islands, Maluku, Myanmar, Nepal, New Guinea, Pakistan, Philippines, Sulawesi, Sumatera, Thailand, Vietnam
  • Exotic/Native : Native
  • World Distribution : Australia, Bangladesh, Bismarck Archipelago, Bhutan, China, Christmas Island, India, Jawa, Laos, Lesser Sunda Islands, Maluku, Myanmar, Nepal, New Guinea, Pakistan, Philippines, Sulawesi, Sumatera, Thailand, Vietnam
  • Conservation Status : Not Evaluated (NE)
  • Literature :
    • H.O. Saxena & M. Brahmam, 1994- Flora of Orissa Vol. 1
    • Pullaiah et al., 2002 - Flora of Eastern Ghats Vol. 1
    • Matthew, K.M., Flora of Tamil Nadu Carnatic, Vol.3 (1). Diocesan Press, Madras. 1983
    • Henry, Kumari & Chithra (1983). Flora of Tamil Nadu, India vol. 1
    • Sasidharan, N. 2011. Flowering plants of Kerala. DVD, V 2, KFRI
    • N.P. Sing & S. Karthikeyan 2000. Flora of Maharastra vol 1. Botanical survey of India, Govt. India
    • Kamble & Pradhan, 1988. Flora of Akola District, Maharashtra. Botanical Survey of India
    • Sharma B.D, 1984 - Flora of Karnataka Analysis.
    • H J, Chowdhery, et al. Flora of Himachal Pradesh. Volume 1, Botanical Survey of India, 1984. Pg.: 111
  • Read more :
  • Permalink : http://indiaflora-ces.iisc.ac.in/plants.php?name=Abelmoschus manihot
  • Citation : Sankara Rao, K., Deepak Kumar (2026). India Flora Online. http://indiaflora-ces.iisc.ac.in/plants.php?name=Abelmoschus manihot. Downloaded on 13 February 2026.

Botanical Description

Field Image(s)

Habitat

Distribution District wise

India Distribution

World Distribution

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