Okra is a unique and tasty vegetable. Its green seed pods give soups and stews a unique texture. But okra can look like other plants at first glance. If you like okra and garden, it helps to know how to tell the real thing from fakes. This article will talk about 9 plants that people often think are okra because their leaves, flowers, or fruit look a lot like okra’s.
Overview of Okra
First, let’s review some key identification points for the real okra plant (Abelmoschus esculentus)
-
Part of the mallow family (Malvaceae)
-
Grows 2-6 feet tall
-
Has large, yellow, hibiscus-like flowers with 5 petals
-
Broad, palmate leaves with 5-7 lobes
-
Produces long, green seed pods (the edible part)
-
Pods are mucilaginous when cooked
-
Native to Africa, now grown worldwide
With those okra characteristics in mind, let’s look at some common lookalikes.
9 Okra Imposters
1. Cotton (Gossypium spp.)
Cotton is probably the most frequent okra lookalike. Young cotton seedlings have lobed leaves that resemble okra foliage. However, mature cotton leaves usually have 3-5 deep lobes compared to okra’s 5-7 shallower lobes. The flowers also differ, with cotton blooms being white, cream, yellow, or pinkish rather than yellow. Of course, cotton is easily distinguished from okra once it produces its fluffy white bolls.
2. Mallows (Malva spp.)
As members of the same mallow family as okra, mallows have similar-looking foliage. Their leaves are rounded with lobed edges just like okra leaves. However, mallows produce smaller 5-petaled flowers in shades of white or pink. The seed pods are flat and disc-shaped, not elongated like okra.
3. Hollyhocks (Alcea rosea)
In the vegetative stage, hollyhocks can look like oversized okra plants thanks to their large, lobed leaves. But they grow much taller than okra, reaching 6-9 feet high. The flowers are also a dead giveaway – large and showy in colors like red, pink, purple, yellow and white.
4. Ornamental Hibiscus
Tropical hibiscus have big, glossy leaves that can resemble okra leaves, especially on young plants. However, hibiscus leaves typically have a more serrated or toothed shape compared to okra’s smoother leaf margins. And hibiscus blooms are large and flamboyant unlike okra’s understated flowers.
5. Kenaf (Hibiscus cannabinus)
The foliage of kenaf, a relative of okra, looks almost identical – right down to the leaf shape and vein patterns. But kenaf is a much larger plant, growing over 12 feet tall. The flowers are also quite different with kenaf having yellow blooms with darker centers.
6. Castor Bean (Ricinus communis)
The big, wavy leaves of young castor bean seedlings look like the leaves of okra. But castor bean leaves that are fully grown have more deeply cut lobes and are often tinged red or purple. The flowers are greenish-red spikes, not hibiscus-like. Also, castor beans make seed pods with spikes instead of okra pods that you can eat.
7. Luffa Gourd (Luffa aegyptiaca)
Luffa vine leaves look almost identical to okra leaves. But luffas grow in a spreading, climbing way, while okra grows straight up. The flowers look a lot alike, but luffas have long, ridged fruits with fibrous sponges inside them, which you wouldn’t find on an okra plant.
8. Yellow Wood Sorrel (Oxalis stricta)
This clover-like plant has three heart-shaped leaflets that resemble an okra leaf. However, yellow wood sorrel has tiny yellow flowers (not hibiscus-like) and its seed pods are round, not elongated like okra. The pods split open when ripe, revealing seeds inside.
9. Cocklebur (Xanthium strumarium)
As a seedling, this pesky weed can look a lot like an okra plant, with lush green leaves of a similar shape. But mature cocklebur leaves are distinctly more serrated. And instead of okra pods, cockleburs produce green, bur-like seed clusters covered in hooked spines. Definitely not okra!
Key Identification Points
When trying to distinguish between okra and its imposters, focus on these key characteristics:
-
Leaf shape: okra leaves have five to seven shallow lobes, while some similar plants have deeper or more lobes.
-
Leaf margins – okra leaves have smooth, undulating edges; lookalikes may have more serrated, toothed margins
-
Plant height – okra grows 2-6 feet tall; some lookalikes grow much taller
-
Flower appearance – okra has large, hibiscus-like, yellow blooms; lookalike flowers differ in size, shape and color
-
Fruit structure – okra has long, green ridged seed pods; lookalike fruits are round, spiny, or fibrous
Okra is a wonderful warm season vegetable, but many other plants resemble okra at first or casual glance. Pay attention to details like leaf characteristics, plant size, flowers, and of course the fruits to positively identify genuine okra plants vs. imposters. With a little practice, you’ll be able to spot the okra lookalikes from a mile away!
Learn more about how to get started!
What will you grow? Fresh plants delivered safely to your door.
What will you grow? Fresh plants delivered safely to your door.
What will you grow? Fresh plants delivered safely to your door.
What will you grow? Fresh plants delivered safely to your door.
What will you grow? Fresh plants delivered safely to your door.
What will you grow? Fresh plants delivered safely to your door.
What will you grow? Fresh plants delivered safely to your door.
What will you grow? Fresh plants delivered safely to your door.
What will you grow? Fresh plants delivered safely to your door.
What will you grow? Fresh plants delivered safely to your door.
What will you grow? Fresh plants delivered safely to your door.
What will you grow? Fresh plants delivered safely to your door.
What will you grow? Fresh plants delivered safely to your door.
Soil, Planting, and Care
Choose your sunniest spot for growing okra, and wait until the weather is warm to set out your plants. Plants like it when nights are at least in the 60s and days 85 or warmer. In the North, gardeners might wait until late June to plant, since pods appear within 2 months.
Okra grows best in soil with a near-neutral pH between 6.5 and 7.0, although it will do fine in a pH as high as 7.6. Plants benefit from a generous amount of compost or other rich organic matter, which should be thoroughly mixed into the soil before planting. Or, you can improve the nutrition and texture of your native soil by mixing in aged compost-enriched Miracle-Gro® Performance Organics®All Purpose In-Ground Soil with the top few inches. For an even better chance at a big harvest, youll also want to make sure your okra plants get all the nutrients they need throughout the season by feeding them with a continuous-release fertilizer such as Miracle-Gro® Performance Organics® Edibles Plant Nutrition Granules, following label directions.
Okra seedlings have fragile taproots that you need to be careful not to damage. Thoroughly water your seedlings an hour before you plant them. Gently remove them from the pot, separate the seedlings, and set them about 10 inches apart. Plant slightly deeper (about ½ inch) than they grew in their pots. Water the little plants if rain is not expected, but wait a few days before mulching to give the soil a chance to absorb the suns warmth. Okra is appreciated for its ability to withstand drought compared to other vegetables, but for good growth and production, youll need to water at least an inch a week, just as with other vegetables. Just know that if you run into an extended dry period and cant seem to water enough, okra will be the last to suffer.
The early growth of okra is often slow, but the plants grow much faster once summer starts sizzling. In addition to gaining height, okras leaves get bigger as the plants grow and begin producing yellow blossoms followed by tender pods. Plants are erect with a main trunk, making them look a little tree-like in the garden.
Cool weather is okras number-one enemy, and stressed plants may fall victim to verticillium and fusarium wilts, which are soil-borne diseases that cause them to wilt and die. Another serious pest is root knot nematode. Ants often climb up plants to steal sips of nectar but seldom cause serious damage. Fire ants are the exception, as they can cause damage to developing flowers that forces them to abort. Other pests that you may run into include Japanese beetles, stink bugs, aphids, corn earworms, and flea beetles. Contact your regional Extension agency for details on how to control these diseases and pests.
Warm weather helps pods grow quickly, so check plants every day once they start producing. A pod can grow from nothing to full size in 2 or 3 days. Pods show up first at the plant’s base and work their way up. By the end of the season, you could be on your toes ready to harvest.
When pods are 2 to 4 inches long, they’re at their best. If you let them stay on the plant longer, they get tough and stringy. Always remove any that are too big to eat because they keep the plant from producing.
Use pruning shears to cut the pods with a short stub of stem attached. Some people suffer uncomfortable itching from contact with okras stiff leaf hairs, so you may want to wear gloves and a long-sleeved shirt when gathering your okra. If a few pods slip by you and grow into giants, cut them off to keep them from exhausting the plant.
In warm climates where summer lasts a long time, standard-sized plants can get 6 to 8 feet tall. In this case, many people prune in late summer by cutting back about one-third of the plants tops. Buds along the main stem then grow and produce a late crop.
Okra is a “cut-and-come-again” vegetable. Keep cutting the pods every day or two, and they will keep on coming.
Okra Varieties That Are Less Gooey, Tender When Large, and Nematode Resistant
FAQ
What plants are similar to okra?
Try cactus. No, seriously. Mexican nopales have a similar texture but don’t have the seeds. They also will have that gummy thickener (mucilage) that Okra has.
What is the wild plant that looks like okra?
It is one of the wild hibiscus (same Genus as Rosella), could be Sebabetane.
What seed pod looks like okra?
Seed capsules of yellow woodsorrel (Oxalis stricta) resemble the shape of okra pods.
What do okra flowers look like?
The flowers are 1. 5 to 3 inches (4 to 8 cm) in diameter, with 5 white or yellowish petals. Okra is from the same plant family as hibiscus, and the flowers look similar to hibiscus flowers. 1. They look nice, but they don’t last long, so pick them before the pods start to form.
Is okra a perennial?
Okra (Abelmoschus esculentus), also known as lady’s fingers, is a perennial plant that can also be grown as an annual. It grows best in warm climates in a position with full sun and protection from strong winds. Okra plants produce long, green pods that contain small seeds.
Are okra plants hardy?
Okra (Abelmoschus spp. ) is a plant that shoots seeds when touched, projecting its seeds several feet. Okras are annuals that are hardy in USDA zones 4 through 11. The kapok tree (Ceiba pentandra, also known as the cotton tree) is native to South America and produces cream-colored flowers with an unpleasant smell.