It's a flower !
Karkade (Hibiscus
flower) is composed by dried calyces and calicules, fleshy pink to dark
red, detached from the dry fruit of Hibiscus sabdariffa. Hibiscus
belongs to a family that contains not less than 300 different species
throughout the world. Hibiscus sabdariffa is an erect, annual or
biennial, and bushy evergreen shrub or small tree with large isolated
leaves, with petioles and lobes, that rises from 1 to 3 m in
cultivation, but can reach 10 m feet in the wild, where it may be found
in fields, on roadsides and in waste places, thriving in well-drained
soil in full sun. The stems are purple
.25,26 
The
plant flowers throughout the year and is cultivated for its exceptional
beauty and brilliant blooms of red, orange and pink; but this cooling
astringent plant is also praised for its medical value.
25,26
Bissap is a heat-resistant shrub which produces fruits during all the
year. Hibiscus sabdariffa fruit is a globe-shaped capsule (typical of
malvaceae), covered by calyx and containing dark brown seeds (used for
multiplication). The calyces became juicy, fleshy and crispy when
mature. Calyx and calicule become fleshy and slightly friable when
dried, red to dark purple; the lower part of the internal face is light
colored.
23 Bissap is very likely to be the only plant for
which calyces, which contain great quantities of organic acids, may be
assimilated to a fruit and be used as one
23 Odour : Faint - Savour : slightly acidic.
