(Hibiscus sabdariffa var sabdariffa – Family Malvaceae)
Roselle, rozelle, red sorrel, Jamaica sorrel
oseille rouge/l’oseille de Guinée (French), Rosella (German), quimbombó chino/sereni (Spanish), vinagreira/azeda de Guiné (Portuguese), karkade (Arabic), krachiap daeng (Thai), asam susur (Malay), rozeru (Japanese), bisap (Senegal)
Despite the “Jamaica” name, this fruit did not reach that country until the beginning of the 18th century. Not only that, but it is not even a close relative of the sorrel vegetable.
Native to West Africa, it is now cultivated in many tropical regions, including Southeast Asia, and imported into the US at the time of the slave trade.
The names stem from corruptions of the French words for the red colour of the edible calyx, which influenced the slide from that language into the more glowing sound of roselle.
The earliest name of the plant is from the 16th century when it was called “sabdariffa”. No one knows why or how, but the name was incorporated into its botanical name. The sorrel reference applies more to its taste.
The roselle is a woody annual, bearing green leaves on red stems.
Its fruit is not considered a true fruit, but rather a boll or flower-cup of flesh enclosing the bud and seeds.
There are two main varieties, but this one includes all the cultivars grown for food.
The other, var altissima,
is more important economically for its fiber.
The plant is unusual in that its main edible part is not the actual “fruit” but the calyx of the fruit. The calyx is like the little green star on top of a tomato or strawberry. In this instance, it is red, large, and fleshy, and enwraps a small useless fruit.
The calyx is made into a refreshing sour drink in the West Indies and elsewhere, and also used to produce jellies and jams, tasting more like cranberries than cherries.
They are also dried and marketed and have become a source of a red food colourant.
A Filipino author, Maria del Oroso, wrote a collection on food in 1970 and embodied the roselle into sixty of her varying recipes.
In 1947, Gladys Graham wrote from Panama, describing this “sorrel” as an important ingredient in beverages and jam made for the highway crews that were widening Central American roads. These men would cut down everything except this shrub so that is was left to bloom by the side of the road.
