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Abelmoschus moschatus Medik.

Synonym	:	Hibiscus abelmoschus L.
Family	:	Malvaceae
Local name	:	English- Musk Mallow,Musk Okra      Malyalam-Kasthurivenda
Flowering and fruiting period	:	August - December
Distribution	:	South Asia to Pacific Islands
Distribution in kerala	:	Wayanad, Palakkad, Alappuzha, Idukki,Pathanamthitta, Malappuram, Ernakulam, Kozhikkode,  Thrissur,                                                            Thiruvananthapuram, Thrissur, Kottayam,
Habitat	:	Rocky areas in moist deciduous forests, also in                  the plains
Uses	:	Young leaves and shoots - cooked in soups. Used as a vegetable. An emulsion made from the seed is antispasmodic and is especially effective in the digestive system.
Key Botanical Characters: Erect herbs or under shrubs, 1-2 m tall; stems clothed with long deflexed hairs. Leaves plamately 3-7-lobed or parted,  the lobes often narrowly linea. Flowers axillary, solitary; pedicels slender, to 5 cm long. . Calyx spathaceous, splitting at one side, shortly 3 -5-toothed at apex. Corolla yellow with purple center; petals 5, obovate, margins entire. Staminal column  long; antheriferous throughout; Capsules oblong ,5 angular, blackish when ripe. Seeds reniform black.