Abutilon

Location & distribution maps

Common name:         Chinese Lantern

Conservation status: . . .

Etymology:   

• The genus name is an 18th-century Neo-Latin word that came from the Arabic ’abū-ṭīlūn (أبو طيلون), the name given by Avicenna to this or a similar genus

Flowers:                  

• 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, but can be red or pinkish, sometimes with a darker center

• The stamens are fused into a tube lined at the mouth with anthers. Inside the tube is the branching style with head-like stigmas

Fruit:                         

• The fruit is a rounded or hemispherical schizocarp with up to 20 segments, each containing a few seeds

Leaves:         

• The leaf blades are usually entire, but the occasional species has lobed leaves

• They are palmately veined and have wavy or serrated edges

Stem & branches: 

Roots:         

Habit:        

• Plants of this genus include herbs, shrubs, and trees

• They range in height from about 0.5 to 3 m

• The herbage is generally hairy to woolly or bristly

Habitat:   

Distribution:                  

Species:                     

• World:           

• Australia:     

Additional notes:     

• Taxonomy

  • The type species is Abutilon theophrasti

  • 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

• Species

  • There are about 200 species in the genus

  • Plants of the World Online accepts 177 species

  • Species include:

    • Abutilon abutiloides (Jacq.) Garcke – bushy abutilon, shrubby Indian mallow

    • Abutilon affine (Spreng.) G.Don – Southern Brazil, Paraguay, Uruguay, and northeastern Argentina

    • Abutilon albidum (Willd.) Sweet

    • Abutilon auritum (Wall. ex Link) Sweet – Asian Indian mallow

    • Abutilon australiense (Hochr. ex Britten) Nimbalkar, Nandikar & Sardesai

    • Abutilon austroafricanum Hochr.

    • Abutilon bedfordianum (Hook.) A.St.-Hil. – Bedford's mallow

    • Abutilon berlandieri Gray ex S.Watson – Berlandier's Indian mallow

    • Abutilon bidentatum A.Rich.

    • Abutilon bivalve (Cav.) Dorr

    • Abutilon buchii Urb.

    • Abutilon darwinii Hook.f. – Darwin's mallow

    • Abutilon eremitopetalum Caum – hiddenpetal Indian mallow (Lānaʻi in Hawaii)

    • Abutilon fraseri (Hook.f.) Walp. - Dwarf lantern-flower

    • Abutilon fruticosum Guill. & Perr. – Texas Indian mallow

    • Abutilon giganteum (Jacq.) Sweet

    • Abutilon grandiflorum G.Don

    • Abutilon grandifolium (Willd.) Sweet – hairy Indian mallow

    • Abutilon greveanum (Baill.) Hochr.

    • Abutilon guineense (Schumach.) Baker f. & Exell

    • Abutilon halophilum F.Muell. ex Schltdl.

    • Abutilon hirtum (Lam.) Sweet – Florida Keys Indian mallow

    • Abutilon hulseanum Torr. ex A.Gray

    • Abutilon hypoleucum A.Gray – whiteleaf Indian mallow

    • Abutilon incanum (Link) Sweet – hoary abutilon, pelotazo (Southwestern United States, northern Mexico, Hawaii)

    • Abutilon indicum (L.) Sweet – Indian abutilon, Indian lantern-flower, monkeybush

    • Abutilon insigne Planch.

    • Abutilon julianae Endl.

    • Abutilon lauraster Hochr.

    • Abutilon leonardi Urb. – woolly abutilon

    • Abutilon leucopetalum (F.Muell.) F.Muell. ex Benth. – desert Chinese-lantern

    • Abutilon listeri Baker f.

    • Abutilon longicuspe Hochst. ex A.Rich.

    • Abutilon malacum S. Watson – yellow Indian mallow

    • Abutilon mauritianum (Jacq.) Medik.

    • Abutilon megapotamicum A.St.-Hil. & Naudin – trailing abutilon

    • Abutilon menziesii Seem. – koʻoloaʻula (Hawaii)

    • Abutilon mollicomum (Willd.) Sweet – Sonoran Indian mallow

    • Abutilon mollissimum (Cav.) Sweet

    • Abutilon niveum Griseb. – white-flowered abutilon

    • Abutilon oxycarpum (F.Muell.) F.Muell. ex Benth. – small-leaved abutilon

    • Abutilon palmeri A.Gray – Palmer's Indian mallow

    • Abutilon pannosum (G.Forst.) Schltdl.

    • Abutilon parishii A.Watson – Parish's Indian mallow

    • Abutilon parvulum A.Gray – dwarf Indian mallow

    • Abutilon pauciflorum A.St.-Hil. – woolly abutilon[16]

    • Abutilon permolle (Willd.) Sweet – coastal Indian mallow

    • Abutilon pictum (Gillies ex Hook.) Walp. – redvein abutilon, painted Indian mallow (syn. A. striatum)

    • Abutilon pitcairnense Fosberg

    • Abutilon purpurascens (Link) K.Schum.

    • Abutilon reflexum (Juss. ex Cav.) Sweet

    • Abutilon ramiflorum A.St.-Hil.

    • Abutilon ranadei Woodr.et.Stapf - Indian son ghanta

    • Abutilon reventum S.Watson – yellowflower Indian mallow

    • Abutilon sachetianum Fosberg

    • Abutilon sandwicense (O.Deg.) Christoph. – greenflower Indian mallow (Oahʻu in Hawaii)

    • Abutilon sellowianum (Klotzsch) Regel

    • Abutilon theophrasti Medik. – butterprint, abutilon-hemp, China-jute, velvetleaf (in USA), swamp Chinese-lantern, common yellow mallow

    • Abutilon thurberi A.Gray – Thurber's Indian mallow

    • Abutilon thyrsodendron Griseb.

    • Abutilon trisulcatum (Jacq.) Britton & Millsp. – anglestem Indian mallow

    • Abutilon tubulosum (A.Cunn. ex Hook.) Walp.

    • Abutilon venosum Lem.

    • Abutilon virginianum Krapov. – Virgin Islands abutilon

    • Abutilon wrightii A.Gray – Wright's Indian mallow

  • Hybrids

    • Abutilon × hybridum (unknown parentage)

    • Abutilon × milleri (A. megapotamicum × A. pictum)

    • Abutilon × suntense (A. ochsenii × A. vitifolium)

    • Formerly placed here

    • Bakeridesia integerrima (Hook.) D.M.Bates (as A. chittendenii Standl.)

    • Briquetia spicata (Kunth) Fryxell (as A. spicatum Kunth)

    • Corynabutilon ochsenii (Phil.) Kearney (as A. ochsenii (Phil.) Reiche)

    • Corynabutilon vitifolium (Cav.) Kearney (as A. vitifolium (Cav.) C.Presl)

  • Cultivation

    • Some abutilons are cultivated as garden plants

    • Several hybrids and cultivars have been developed

  • Cultivars, hybrids, and species that have gained the Royal Horticultural Society's 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 16 to 23 °C

  • 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

Sources of information:

•  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abutilon (2024)