Roselle

Its fleshy, ruby-red calyces make bissap – a deep red drink regarded as Senegal’s unofficial national beverage.

Roselle is a shrubby plant growing to 2 m, with reddish stems and palmately lobed leaves. It bears pale yellow flowers with a dark centre, and after flowering the calyx becomes fleshy and turns an intense red. The dried calyces have a tart flavour and are rich in anthocyanins; they are brewed into hot and cold drinks and made into syrups and jams. The young, sour leaves are eaten as a vegetable.

Significance in the country

Bissap – a chilled infusion of the calyces with sugar and mint – is served in Senegal at every party and wedding and during Ramadan, and vendors sell it on every street in Dakar. Senegal is one of Africa’s more important producers of roselle calyces.

Where it grows

Grown in the rainy season throughout the country’s farming belt, most of all in the Kaolack, Kaffrine, Fatick, Thiès and Diourbel regions and in the south, around Kolda and Sédhiou.

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