Okra, or lady's finger, is a flowering plant in the mallow family Malvaceae, originating somewhere near present-day Ethiopia. It was formerly considered a species of Hibiscus, but is now classified in the genus Abelmoschus. The word okra is of West African origin and is cognate with "ókùrù" in Igbo, a language spoken in what is now known as Nigeria. It is an annual or perennial herbaceous plant, growing to 2 m tall, straight up with very little phototropism. The leaves are 10-20 cm long and broad, palmately lobed with 5-7 lobes. The flowers are 4-8 cm diameter, with five white to yellow petals, often with a red or purple spot at the base of each petal. The fruit is a capsule, 5-20 cm long, containing numerous seeds. Okra is normally eaten young as it gets very woody when mature. Okra is often steamed until tender, either whole or sliced about 1 cm thick or simply stir-fried. Okra is a key thickening agent in Charleston gumbo; when cooked, it has the same mucilaginous properties as nopales (the pads of the prickly pear cactus). Breaded, deep fried okra is quite popular in the Southern United States, especially in restaurants. Okra can also be pickled. Varieties we carry are the Clemson Spineless Okra, Dwarf Stalk and White Velvet Okra.