genus
Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms as well as viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus comes above species and below family. In binomial nom ...
of
flowering plant
Flowering plants are plants that bear flowers and fruits, and form the clade Angiospermae (), commonly called angiosperms. The term "angiosperm" is derived from the Greek words ('container, vessel') and ('seed'), and refers to those plants t ...
s in the mallow family,
Malvaceae
Malvaceae, or the mallows, is a family of flowering plants estimated to contain 244 genera with 4225 known species. Well-known members of economic importance include okra, cotton, cacao and durian. There are also some genera containing familia ...
. It is distributed throughout the
tropics
The tropics are the regions of Earth surrounding the Equator. They are defined in latitude by the Tropic of Cancer in the Northern Hemisphere at N and the Tropic of Capricorn in
the Southern Hemisphere at S. The tropics are also refer ...
and
subtropics
The subtropical zones or subtropics are geographical and climate zones to the north and south of the tropics. Geographically part of the temperate zones of both hemispheres, they cover the middle latitudes from to approximately 35° nort ...
''Abutilon''. Flora of China. of the Americas, Africa, Asia, and Australia. General common names include Indian mallow''Abutilon''. Integrated Taxonomic Information System (ITIS). and velvetleaf; ornamental varieties may be known as room maple, parlor maple, or flowering maple.
The genus name is an 18th-century
New Latin
New Latin (also called Neo-Latin or Modern Latin) is the revival of Literary Latin used in original, scholarly, and scientific works since about 1500. Modern scholarly and technical nomenclature, such as in zoological and botanical taxonomy ...
word that came from the Arabic ' (), the name given by
Avicenna
Ibn Sina ( fa, ابن سینا; 980 – June 1037 CE), commonly known in the West as Avicenna (), was a Persian polymath who is regarded as one of the most significant physicians, astronomers, philosophers, and writers of the Islamic ...
to this or a similar genus.
The
type species
In zoological nomenclature, a type species (''species typica'') is the species name with which the name of a genus or subgenus is considered to be permanently taxonomically associated, i.e., the species that contains the biological type specim ...
is ''
Abutilon theophrasti
''Abutilon theophrasti'' (velvetleaf, velvet plant, velvetweed, Chinese jute, China jute, crown weed, buttonweed, lantern mallow, butterprint, pie-marker, or Indian mallow) is an annual plant in the family Malvaceae, native to southern Asia.
It' ...
''. Several species formerly placed in ''Abutilon'', including the cultivated species and hybrids commonly known as "flowering maples", have recently (2012, 2014) been transferred to the new genus ''
Callianthe
''Callianthe'' is a genus of flowering plants in the tribe Malveae. It is distributed throughout the Neotropics
The Neotropical realm is one of the eight biogeographic realms constituting Earth's land surface. Physically, it includes the tr ...
''.
Description
Plants of this genus include herbs,
shrub
A shrub (often also called a bush) is a small-to-medium-sized perennial woody plant. Unlike herbaceous plants, shrubs have persistent woody stems above the ground. Shrubs can be either deciduous or evergreen. They are distinguished from tree ...
s, and
tree
In botany, a tree is a perennial plant with an elongated stem, or trunk, usually supporting branches and leaves. In some usages, the definition of a tree may be narrower, including only woody plants with secondary growth, plants that are ...
s. They range in height from about 0.5 to 3 meters (1.5 to 10 feet). The herbage is generally hairy to woolly or bristly.''Abutilon''. The Jepson eFlora 2013. 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
inflorescence
An inflorescence is a group or cluster of flowers arranged on a stem that is composed of a main branch or a complicated arrangement of branches. Morphologically, it is the modified part of the shoot of seed plants where flowers are forme ...
s in the leaf axils or toward the branch tips. The
calyx
Calyx or calyce (plural "calyces"), from the Latin ''calix'' which itself comes from the Ancient Greek ''κάλυξ'' (''kálux'') meaning "husk" or "pod", may refer to:
Biology
* Calyx (anatomy), collective name for several cup-like structures ...
is bell-shaped with five lobes. The corolla is usually bell-shaped to wheel-shaped, with five
petal
Petals are modified leaves that surround the reproductive parts of flowers. They are often brightly colored or unusually shaped to attract pollinators. All of the petals of a flower are collectively known as the ''corolla''. Petals are usuall ...
s joined at the bases.
The flowers of wild species are most often yellow or orange, but can be red or pinkish, sometimes with a darker center. The
stamen
The stamen (plural ''stamina'' or ''stamens'') is the pollen-producing reproductive organ of a flower. Collectively the stamens form the androecium., p. 10
Morphology and terminology
A stamen typically consists of a stalk called the fila ...
s are fused into a tube lined at the mouth with anthers. Inside the tube is the branching
style
Style is a manner of doing or presenting things and may refer to:
* Architectural style, the features that make a building or structure historically identifiable
* Design, the process of creating something
* Fashion, a prevailing mode of clothing ...
with head-like stigmas. The fruit is a rounded or hemispherical
schizocarp
A schizocarp is a dry fruit that, when mature, splits up into mericarps.
There are different definitions:
* Any dry fruit composed of multiple carpels that separate.
: Under this definition the mericarps can contain one or more seeds (the m ...
with up to 20 segments, each containing a few seeds.
Species
There are about 200 species in the genus.
Species include:
*''
Abutilon abutiloides
''Abutilon'' is a large genus of flowering plants in the mallow family, Malvaceae. It is distributed throughout the tropics and subtropicsJacq.
Nikolaus Joseph Freiherr von Jacquin (16 February 172726 October 1817) was a scientist who studied medicine, chemistry and botany.
Biography
Born in Leiden in the Netherlands, he studied medicine at Leiden University, then moved first to Par ...
) Garcke – bushy abutilon, shrubby Indian mallow
*''
Abutilon albescens
''Abutilon'' is a large genus of flowering plants in the mallow family, Malvaceae. It is distributed throughout the tropics and subtropicsMiq.
Friedrich Anton Wilhelm Miquel (24 October 1811 – 23 January 1871) was a Dutch botanist, whose main focus of study was on the flora of the Dutch East Indies.
Early life
Miquel was born in Neuenhaus and studied medicine at the University of Groni ...
*''
Abutilon asiaticum
''Abutilon'' is a large genus of flowering plants in the mallow family, Malvaceae. It is distributed throughout the tropics and subtropicsAbutilon auritum
''Abutilon'' is a large genus of flowering plants in the mallow family, Malvaceae. It is distributed throughout the tropics and subtropicsWall. ex Link)
Sweet
Sweetness is a basic taste most commonly perceived when eating foods rich in sugars. Sweet tastes are generally regarded as pleasurable. In addition to sugars like sucrose, many other chemical compounds are sweet, including aldehydes, ketone ...
– Asian Indian mallow
*''
Abutilon avicennae
''Abutilon theophrasti'' (velvetleaf, velvet plant, velvetweed, Chinese jute, China jute, crown weed, buttonweed, lantern mallow, butterprint, pie-marker, or Indian mallow) is an annual plant in the family Malvaceae, native to southern Asia.
It's ...
Gray
Grey (more common in British English) or gray (more common in American English) is an intermediate color between black and white. It is a neutral or achromatic color, meaning literally that it is "without color", because it can be compose ...
ex
S.Watson
Sereno Watson (December 1, 1826 in East Windsor Hill, Connecticut – March 9, 1892 in Cambridge, Massachusetts) was an American botanist.
Graduating from Yale in 1847 in Biology, he drifted through various occupations until, in California, he ...
– Berlandier's Indian mallow
*''
Abutilon bidentatum
''Abutilon'' is a large genus of flowering plants in the mallow family, Malvaceae. It is distributed throughout the tropics and subtropicsA.Rich.
Achille Richard was a French botanist, botanical illustrator and physician (27 April 1794 in Paris – 5 October 1852).
Biography
Achille was the son of the botanist Louis-Claude Marie Richard (1754–1821). He was a pharmacist in the Fren ...
*''
Abutilon buchii
''Abutilon'' is a large genus of flowering plants in the mallow family, Malvaceae. It is distributed throughout the tropics and subtropicsUrb.
Ignatz Urban (7 January 1848 – 7 January 1931) was a German botanist. He is known for his contributions to the flora of the Caribbean and Brazil, and for his work as curator of the Berlin Botanical Garden. Born the son of a brewer, Urban sho ...
Hook.f.
Sir Joseph Dalton Hooker (30 June 1817 – 10 December 1911) was a British botanist and explorer in the 19th century. He was a founder of geographical botany and Charles Darwin's closest friend. For twenty years he served as director of t ...
Guill.
Jean Baptiste Antoine Guillemin (20 January 1796 in Pouilly-sur-Saône – 15 January 1842 in Montpellier) was a French botanist.
He studied at the municipal college in Seurre, where he was considered one of the most distinguished pupils. U ...
&
Perr.
George Samuel Perrottet (23 February 1790 – 13 January 1870, Pondicherry), also known as Georges Guerrard-Samuel Perrottet, Guerrard Samuel Perrottet, Gustave Samuel Perrotet ic and Samuel Perrottet, was a botanist and horticulturalist from Pr ...
Abutilon grandiflorum
''Abutilon'' is a large genus of flowering plants in the mallow family, Malvaceae. It is distributed throughout the tropics and subtropicsG.Don
*''
Abutilon grandifolium
''Abutilon grandifolium'', the hairy Indian mallow, is a large shrub that is up to high with broad, leaf blades. Flowers are axillary, with a yellow corolla across, composed of petals long. The fruits are ovoid-globular schizocarps that are ...
Baill.
Henri Ernest Baillon was a French botanist and physician. He was born in Calais on 30 November 1827 and died in Paris on 19 July 1895.
Baillon spent his professional life as a professor of natural history, and he published numerous works on b ...
Baker
A baker is a tradesperson who baking, bakes and sometimes Sales, sells breads and other products made of flour by using an oven or other concentrated heat source. The place where a baker works is called a bakery.
History
Ancient history
Si ...
f. &
Exell
Exell is a surname. Notable people with the surname include:
* Arthur Wallis Exell
Arthur Wallis Exell OBE (21 May 1901, in Birmingham – 15 January 1993, in Cheltenham) was initially an assistant and later Deputy Keeper of Botany at the Bri ...
Abutilon hulseanum
''Abutilon hulseanum'', the mauve or red Indian mallow, is a species of flowering plant in the family Malvaceae.
Description
''Abutilon hulseanum'' is a short-lived perennial shrub growing to . Its showy orange-pink flowers bloom from late win ...
Southwestern United States
The Southwestern United States, also known as the American Southwest or simply the Southwest, is a geographic and cultural region of the United States that generally includes Arizona, New Mexico, and adjacent portions of California, Colorado, N ...
, northern
Mexico
Mexico (Spanish language, Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a List of sovereign states, country in the southern portion of North America. It is borders of Mexico, bordered to the north by the United States; to the so ...
,
Hawaii
Hawaii ( ; haw, Hawaii or ) is a state in the Western United States, located in the Pacific Ocean about from the U.S. mainland. It is the only U.S. state outside North America, the only state that is an archipelago, and the only stat ...
)
*''
Abutilon indicum
''Abutilon indicum'' (Indian abutilon, Indian mallow) is a small shrub in the family Malvaceae, native to tropical and subtropical regions. This plant is a valuable medicinal and ornamental plant, its roots and leaves being used for curing fe ...
'' ( L.) Sweet – Indian abutilon, Indian lantern-flower, monkeybush
*'' Abutilon insigne'' Planch.
*''
Abutilon julianae
''Abutilon julianae'' is a small shrub of the genus ''Abutilon'' believed endemic to Norfolk Island and nearby Phillip Island.
History
It was first recorded on Norfolk Island in 1792 by convict artist John Doody, and on Phillip Island by Ferd ...
F.Muell.
Baron Sir Ferdinand Jacob Heinrich von Mueller, (german: Müller; 30 June 1825 – 10 October 1896) was a German-Australian physician, geographer, and most notably, a botanist. He was appointed government botanist for the then colony of Victo ...
) F.Muell. ex
Benth.
George Bentham (22 September 1800 – 10 September 1884) was an English botanist, described by the weed botanist Duane Isely as "the premier systematic botanist of the nineteenth century". Born into a distinguished family, he initially studie ...
– desert Chinese-lantern
*''
Abutilon listeri
'' Abutilon listeri '', commonly known as the lantern flower, is a tropical shrub in the Malvaceae or mallow family. It is endemic to Christmas Island, an Australian territory in the north-eastern Indian Ocean. Its specific epithet honours ...
Abutilon longicuspe
''Abutilon'' is a large genus of flowering plants in the mallow family, Malvaceae. It is distributed throughout the tropics and subtropicsHochst. ex
A.Rich.
Achille Richard was a French botanist, botanical illustrator and physician (27 April 1794 in Paris – 5 October 1852).
Biography
Achille was the son of the botanist Louis-Claude Marie Richard (1754–1821). He was a pharmacist in the Fren ...
Seem.
Berthold Carl Seemann (25 February 1825, in Hanover, Germany – 10 October 1871, in Nicaragua, Central America), was a German botanist. He travelled widely and collected and described plants from the Pacific and South America.
In 1844 he trave ...
– ''kooloaula'' (
Hawaii
Hawaii ( ; haw, Hawaii or ) is a state in the Western United States, located in the Pacific Ocean about from the U.S. mainland. It is the only U.S. state outside North America, the only state that is an archipelago, and the only stat ...
Abutilon mollissimum
''Abutilon'' is a large genus of flowering plants in the mallow family, Malvaceae. It is distributed throughout the tropics and subtropicsAbutilon muticum
''Abutilon'' is a large genus of flowering plants in the mallow family, Malvaceae. It is distributed throughout the tropics and subtropicsAbutilon niveum''
Griseb.
August Heinrich Rudolf Grisebach () was a German botanist and phytogeographer. He was born in Hannover on 17 April 1814 and died in Göttingen on 9 May 1879.
Biography
Grisebach studied at the Lyceum in Hanover, the cloister-school at Ilfeld, ...
Abutilon pannosum
''Abutilon pannosum'' is a subshrub species of the family Malvaceae. It is a perennial shrub that grows up to 10 feet tall.
Morphology
Velvety, cordate
Cordate is an adjective meaning 'heart-shaped' and is most typically used for:
* Cordate (l ...
Gillies Gillies is both a Scottish surname and a given name shared by several notable people:
Surname uses
Politicians
* Duncan Gillies (1834–1903), Australian colonial and state politician
* James McPhail Gillies (born 1924), Canadian national pol ...
ex Hook.) Walp. – redvein abutilon, painted Indian mallow (syn. ''A. striatum'')
*''
Abutilon pitcairnense
''Abutilon pitcairnense'', the yellow fatu or yellow fautu, is a critically endangered perennial plant that is native to Pitcairn Island. It was once considered extinct, until a single plant was discovered on the island in 2003. At that time, c ...
K.Schum.
Karl Moritz Schumann (17 June 1851 – 22 March 1904) was a German botanist.
Schumann was born in Görlitz. He was curator of the Botanisches Museum in Berlin-Dahlem from 1880 until 1894. He also served as the first chairman of the ''Deutsc ...
Oahu
Oahu () ( Hawaiian: ''Oʻahu'' ()), also known as "The Gathering Place", is the third-largest of the Hawaiian Islands. It is home to roughly one million people—over two-thirds of the population of the U.S. state of Hawaii. The island of O ...
Klotzsch
Johann Friedrich Klotzsch (9 June 1805 – 5 November 1860) was a German pharmacist and botanist.
His principal work was in the field of mycology, with the study and description of many species of mushroom.
Klotzsch was born in Wittenberg. Orig ...
Abutilon theophrasti
''Abutilon theophrasti'' (velvetleaf, velvet plant, velvetweed, Chinese jute, China jute, crown weed, buttonweed, lantern mallow, butterprint, pie-marker, or Indian mallow) is an annual plant in the family Malvaceae, native to southern Asia.
It' ...
Griseb.
August Heinrich Rudolf Grisebach () was a German botanist and phytogeographer. He was born in Hannover on 17 April 1814 and died in Göttingen on 9 May 1879.
Biography
Grisebach studied at the Lyceum in Hanover, the cloister-school at Ilfeld, ...
Bakeridesia integerrima
''Bakeridesia'' is a genus of flowering plants belonging to the family Malvaceae.
Its native range is Mexico to Venezuela, Eastern Brazil.
Species:
*'' Bakeridesia amoena''
*'' Bakeridesia bakeriana''
*'' Bakeridesia chittendenii''
*'' Bak ...
Briquetia spicata
''Briquetia'' is a genus of flowering plants belonging to the family Malvaceae
Malvaceae, or the mallows, is a family of flowering plants estimated to contain 244 genera with 4225 known species. Well-known members of economic importance include ...
'' (Kunth) Fryxell (as ''A. spicatum'' Kunth)
*''
Corynabutilon ochsenii
''Corynabutilon'' is a genus of flowering plants in the family Malvaceae, native to southern Chile and Argentina. They are shrubs or small trees.
Species
Currently accepted species include:
*''Corynabutilon bicolor'' (Phil. ex K.Schum.) Kearney ...
Corynabutilon vitifolium
''Corynabutilon vitifolium'' (syn. ''Abutilon vitifolium'')
is a species of plant in the mallow family. Its native range is central and south-central Chile. Its cultivars 'Tennant's White' and 'Veronica Tennant' have gained the Royal Horticultu ...
Some abutilons are cultivated as garden plants. Several hybrids and
cultivar
A cultivar is a type of cultivated plant that people have selected for desired traits and when propagated retain those traits. Methods used to propagate cultivars include: division, root and stem cuttings, offsets, grafting, tissue culture ...
s have been developed.
Cultivars, hybrids, and species that have gained the
Royal Horticultural Society
The Royal Horticultural Society (RHS), founded in 1804 as the Horticultural Society of London, is the UK's leading gardening charity.
The RHS promotes horticulture through its five gardens at Wisley (Surrey), Hyde Hall (Essex), Harlow Carr (Nor ...
's
Award of Garden Merit
The Award of Garden Merit (AGM) is a long-established annual award for plants by the British Royal Horticultural Society (RHS). It is based on assessment of the plants' performance under UK growing conditions.
History
The Award of Garden Merit ...
include:
*''A. megapotamicum''
*''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.
Gallery
File:Abutilon theophrasti 002.jpg, ''
Abutilon theophrasti
''Abutilon theophrasti'' (velvetleaf, velvet plant, velvetweed, Chinese jute, China jute, crown weed, buttonweed, lantern mallow, butterprint, pie-marker, or Indian mallow) is an annual plant in the family Malvaceae, native to southern Asia.
It' ...
Abutilon indicum
''Abutilon indicum'' (Indian abutilon, Indian mallow) is a small shrub in the family Malvaceae, native to tropical and subtropical regions. This plant is a valuable medicinal and ornamental plant, its roots and leaves being used for curing fe ...
Abutilon grandifolium
''Abutilon grandifolium'', the hairy Indian mallow, is a large shrub that is up to high with broad, leaf blades. Flowers are axillary, with a yellow corolla across, composed of petals long. The fruits are ovoid-globular schizocarps that are ...