outdoors

Sometimes in the United States that red flower that Panamanians boil to make a red drink is described as "hibiscus." The photo on top is what we're talking about, but in Panama and the West Indies it's called "saril." The flower shown below is what we call "hibiscus."

Saril is an annual plant that's cultivated as a food crop, while hibiscus is a perennial ornamental shrub.

But of course, they're related. Saril, known in Mexico and sold in Mexican stores in the United States as "Agua de Jamaica," is, taxonomically speaking, Hibiscus sabdariffa. The petals of the female saril flower shown above are what you want to harvest, but each stalk will put out a single male flower that looks a little like the hibiscus flower shown below.

Saril comes into season shortly --- when the dry season begins --- and is only around for a few weeks. However, if you have a food dryer and you can store the stuff in jars of plastic bags and enjoy saril all year long. There are many ways to brew saril, but the most popular recipe down here is to boil it up with a little bit of ginger, strain off the liquid when all of the color is gone from the petals, add lime juice and sugar to taste and chill.

Top photo by Albert C. Perdeck, courtesy of Texas A&M University; bottom photo courtesy the National Oceanographic & Atmospheric Administration.



Also in this section:
Saril and hibiscus
Costa Rica's threatened coasts
Privy Council takes up Belize dam dispute

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