Okra Coloring Pages

Full of Energy with Sticky Power! Star-Shaped Vegetable Okra

Okra is a vegetable harvested a lot in summer. When you chop it with a knife, the cut side turns into a cute star shape! When you touch or eat it, it feels unique and sticky. This stickiness is packed with lots of nutrients that make your body healthy and strong!

The History of Okra and How It Came to Japan

Okra is a vegetable with a very long history, and people have been eating it since ancient times. It is said that it originally came from a very hot place called Africa.

• The Beginning in Egypt: Records show that it was already grown and eaten in ancient Egypt more than 2,000 years ago!
• When It Came to Japan: It arrived in Japan between the end of the Edo period and the early Meiji period. At first, people grew it to enjoy its pretty flowers, not to eat it.
• People Started Eating It in the Showa Era: Everyone across Japan started eating Okra around the 1960s. That is surprisingly recent, isn't it?

How Okra Grows and Its Special Features

Do you know how Okra grows in the field? It actually has some fun features that are different from other vegetables!

• Pretty Flowers Bloom: Before the fruit grows, Okra blooms very pretty, pale yellow flowers. These flowers bloom in the morning and wither by the evening, lasting for just one day.
• The Fruit Grows Pointing Up: Many vegetables like eggplants and bell peppers hang down from their branches. But Okra fruit grows pointing straight up toward the sky!
• When to Harvest: If Okra gets too big, it becomes hard and you cannot eat it. So, you harvest it with scissors while it is still small and soft.

How to Choose Your Colors

When you color your Okra coloring page, try to make it look like a fresh and juicy vegetable!

• The Okra body: The main color for Okra is bright green. First, color the whole thing lightly with yellow-green. Next, color the corners and edges with dark green. This will make it pop and look real!
• The cut side: If your coloring page shows cut Okra, color the inside light green or almost white. Color the little seeds in the middle light yellow or cream to make them look cute.
• Okra flowers: If there is a flower, color the petals light yellow. Color the center dark reddish-purple (like wine red). That is what real Okra flowers look like!

Make It Look Delicious!

Use special coloring tricks to show how slimy Okra is, or how it shines in the summer sun.

• Showing the slime: Cut or boiled Okra gets slimy! Trace soft lines around it using light blue or a clear light green. This makes it look fresh and juicy.
• Yummy dishes: Think of delicious food like Okra curry, cold tofu with Okra, or Okra soup. Color the plates and other foods with lots of fun colors!

Try Fun Backgrounds

Imagine a summer farm where Okra grows, and draw a background! Add a bright shining sun, big green leaves, and a blue sky. This shows how strong Okra grows in the summer. Create your very own summer farm scene!

Tips for Coloring Fun!

Real Okra is green, but did you know there is a rare reddish-purple kind called Red Okra? So, coloring your Okra purple can be super fun too. Use your own great ideas and make a one-of-a-kind Okra!

Actually Grows Pointing Up Toward the Sky

Eggplants and tomatoes hang down from the vine because they are heavy, but Okra grows pointing up from the stem toward the sky. Seeing so many of them lined up and facing upward in the farm field is really fun, almost like little rockets waiting to launch!

A Beautiful Flower in the Hibiscus Family That Blooms for Just One Day

Okra is part of the mallow family, just like the "hibiscus" flower famous in tropical places. That is why it blooms with very big, beautiful, pale yellow flowers. But these flowers open in the morning and wither by the evening, living for only one day. People say it is one of the most beautiful vegetable flowers of all!

The Name "Okra" Is English, Not Japanese

The name "Okra" sounds like a Japanese word, but it is actually English (Okra)! It is said to have come from an African language, which then became English, and now people use the exact same word in Japan too. If you go to a store in another country, saying "Okra" will usually work!