Abutilon is a large genus of flowering plants in the mallow family, Malvaceae. It is distributed throughout the tropics and subtropics of the Americas, Africa, Asia, and Australia. General common names include Indian mallow and velvetleaf; ornamental varieties may be known as room maple, parlor maple, or flowering maple.

The genus name is an 18th-century Neo-Latin word that came from the Arabic ' (), the name given by Avicenna to this or a similar genus.

The type species is Abutilon theophrasti. Several species formerly placed in Abutilon, including the cultivated species Abutilon pictum and hybrids commonly known as "flowering maples", were transferred to the new genus Callianthe in 2012.

Description

Plants of this genus include herbs, shrubs, and trees. The herbage is generally hairy to woolly or bristly. The leaf blades are usually entire, but the occasional species has lobed leaves. They are palmately veined and have wavy or serrated edges. Flowers are solitary, paired, or borne in small inflorescences in the leaf axils or toward the branch tips. The calyx is bell-shaped with five lobes. The corolla is usually bell-shaped to wheel-shaped, with five petals joined at the bases.

The flowers of wild species are most often yellow or orange,

  • A. × milleri
  • 'Canary Bird'
  • 'Cannington Carol'
  • 'Cannington Peter'
  • 'Kentish Belle'
  • 'Linda Vista Peach'
  • 'Marion'
  • 'Nabob'
  • 'Orange Glow'
  • 'Savitzii'
  • 'Souvenir de Bonn'
  • 'Veronica Tennant'

Abutilons can be propagated from seed or via cuttings. A. megapoticum is grown as a house plant, but needs considerable light, including several hours of sunlight per day, and moderate temperatures of . The best potting medium is a loose soil rich in organic material and sand and watered when dry to the touch. The amount of watering should be reduced from November to March and the plant pruned back one third at the end of this rest period. The plant is prone to attack by scale insects. The plant is best replaced every two to three years with new specimens.

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File:Abutilon theophrasti 002.jpg|Abutilon theophrasti

File:Starr 021209-0009 Abutilon incanum.jpg|Abutilon incanum

Image:Abutilonmenziesii2web.jpg|Abutilon menziesii

File:Abutilon pictum 02.jpg|Abutilon pictum

File:Abutilon Kentish Belle.JPG|Abutilon 'Kentish Belle'

File:Abutilon_megapotamicum2500604731.jpg|Abutilon megapotamicum

File:Abutilon Indicum 7288.JPG|Abutilon indicum

File:Starr 031210-0131 Abutilon grandifolium.jpg|Abutilon grandifolium

</gallery>

References

  • Abutilon Plant Info and Care