Abelmoschus crinitus Wallich, Pl. Asiat. Rar. 1: 39, t. 44, 1830. Bamia crinita Wallich [Cat. No. 1920.1829, nom. nud.]. Hibiscus crinitus (Wallich) G. Don, Gen. Hist. 1: 380. 1831. H. cancellotus Roxb., [Hort. Beng. 51.1814, nom. nud.] Fl. Ind. 3: 201.1832, non L. f.1781; Masters in Fl. Brit. India 1: 342.1874. Abelmoschus cancellatus (Roxb.) Voigt, Hort. Sub. Calc. 119. 1845.

Herbs, 0.5 - 1.5 m high with tuber-like tap root; stems, branches, petioles and pedicels hirsute by shiny simple and stellate hairs, ultimately glabrescent. Leaves 5 - 8 cm across, deeply cordate and 5 - 7-nerved at base, angular or 5 - 7-palmilobed to palmiparted, lobes acute or acuminate at apex, coarsely dentate-serrate, hirsute on both surfaces; petioles 0.5 - 24 cm long; stipules 1 - 3 cm long, linear to filiform, hairy. Epicalyx segments 10 - 16, 2 - 5 cm long, linear, ciliate, sparesly stellate-hairy. Calyx 2 - 5 cm long. densely puberulous to tomentose. Corolla yellow with purple centre; petals 4 - 9 x 2 - 4 cm, broadly obovoid, glabrous. Capsules 2 - 4 x 2 - 3 cm, ovoid-globose, shortly acuminate or rounded, hirsute. Seeds 3 - 5 mm long, globose to reniform, rusty tomentose in concentric rings ,rarely glabrous.

Fl. & Fr. July - Dec.

Distrib. India: Throughout in tropical and subtropical evergreen forests.

Pakistan, Nepal, Bhutan, Myanmar, China, Indo-China and Malesia(Indonesia and Philippines).

Notes. This species shows great variation in the degree of incision of the leaves and the density of the indumentum. The capsules are more or less enclosed by the epicalyx segments.

The tuber-like swollen tap root enables the species to withstand periodic burning of the vegetation (Borssum Waalkes in Blumea 14: 103. 1966).

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