Years ago some friends at church, the Howards, gave me a bag of seeds. They called them Climbing Okra seeds, but the seeds were black and shaped like small watermelon seeds. I asked them later if I had been given the wrong bag. They assured me that they had shared the intended seeds.
I planted them and was amazed at the vines that grew all over our trellis. There were lovely, glowing, yellow flowers that opened in the evening and fruit that did look and cook like okra.
So what is this mysterious vine of mine?
It is Luffa acutangula. Also know as Chinese okra or edible gourd. It is kin to the cucumber. It’s yellow blossoms open in the afternoon. They seem to glow as the sun goes down.
There are separate male and female flowers. These are pollinated by moths and possibly ants. I have photos of both, busily moving from flower to flower.
Each joint of the vine has one leaf, one tendril to grab and climb, one small cluster of male flowers and one female flower on its own stalk.
The fruit gets long in a hurry. Last year, I was surprised by foot-long “okra” hiding among the foilage.
I look forward to picking a batch and frying them up in cornmeal.
In the meantime, I’ll enjoy the glowing flowers with the moths and ants.
Follow the Flower!
floweralley 
We grew this one year. We harvested the mature fruits as loofahs!
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Wow! I will let some get big and do that, too.
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do you have seeds to climbing okra that I can buy?
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If you are in the USA, I will mail you some for free.
They are from two- year -old pods.
I just had knee- replacement, so it may be a week or two. Send your address.
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I WOULD LOVE TO HAVE COUPLE OR 3 SEEDS IF YOU STILL HAVE SOME 180 CUMBERLAND DR GREENEVILLE TN 37745 HOPE YOUR KNEE IS DOING WELL
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I wrote down your address. I planted some, so I know that they are still viable. Probably too late for this season. I will mail some soon. Good luck. Knee is great. I hired a trainer.
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Did your climbing okra germinate?
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I’m interested in getting some seeds if they are still available. I’m also willing you send you a self-address stamped envelope if you prefer. My wife grew up with these in the Philippines and has been looking for them (she was quite surprised when Okra seeds we bought locally turned into bushes rather than vines).
Thank You
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Planted my last seeds. Trying to grow more. I will let you know if I am successful.
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This is so neat. Do you happen to have any for sale? We homeschool and this would be unique to plant this year. Thanks for sharing your experience with this plant. 🌞
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If you are in the USA, send your address. I’ll mail some for free.
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My friend said his family had the European climbing okra seed when he was growing up. I would love to have a few seed. Thank you so much.
Nadine Brissey
11015 South Juniper Street
Jenks, OK 74037
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I have a pod stored. when I open it, I will send some seeds. Probably late April.
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Of the dozen seeds that I planted, only four have come up. These are growing well. Thanks for the note and $2. I know they look like watermelon seeds. Good luck. Stay safe.
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I need to hand polinate. How do I tell the male flower from the female on the Chinese okra.
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First, I have not grown this in three years. I do not remember a difference in male and female flowers. Mine were pollinated by moths at night. Now that you have me curious, I will search through the photos to find close-ups of the flowers. Also, male flowers will have some sort of stamen with pollen while females will have a single female stigma which is usually sticky on the end. My response may take some time. I just got home from a trip. Thanks for the question.
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Response #2. I looked at all flower face close-ups and did not see dimorphism BUT a side view of a developing fruit shows ONE flower on its longer stem and an adjoining shorter stem with many bloom buds in a cluster. These are side-by-side at a leaf stem. I may have to dig out some old seed and plant this again.
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I Have beautifull vines now, but no flowers?? What do I do now?
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Maybe it is too soon. I am growing some too. We will compare notes.
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would you please send me a few seeds of the climbimg okra my address is johnnie brannon 189 ralph perry cir collins ga 30421 my phone 19126935625 . i had some okra like this but mine was not climbing its been 40 years ago if you send some seeds i will put them in frizer till time to plant them .thank you verry much.johnnie
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I have some pods from last year. I will break one open and mail some to you.
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I want to save seeds from my climbing okra plants. Can I harvest them while they are still green, or do I wait till they are dried on the vine? We are supposed to have a freeze next week, and I was wondering if the freeze will kill the okra that I’m saving for seed. I love this plant and want to make sure I have seeds for next year.
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Take some in just in case. Keep them dry. May want to break one pod and spread out seeds. Some of mine molded. Good luck.
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We are in central Mississippi. Just cooked some (gift from a distant cousin). We think it tastes better than “regular” okra! And we have a trellis ready for some plants. Do they take full sun?
May we have a few seeds? Linda Scarbrough, 7 Countryside Road, Starkville, MS 39759
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I hope I still have some seeds. If I find any, I will mail some.
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