Abutilon Mill.

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Credits

Article from Bean's Trees and Shrubs Hardy in the British Isles

Recommended citation
'Abutilon' from the website Trees and Shrubs Online (treesandshrubsonline.org/articles/abutilon/). Accessed 2025-04-27.

Family

Malvaceae

Glossary

calyx: (pl. calyces) Outer whorl of the perianth. Composed of several sepals.
family: A group of genera more closely related to each other than to genera in other families. Names of families are identified by the suffix ‘-aceae’ (e.g. Myrtaceae) with a few traditional exceptions (e.g. Leguminosae).
gynoecium: The female sex organs in a flower (e.g. carpels).
ovary: Lowest part of the carpel containing the ovules; later developing into the fruit.
style: Generally an elongated structure arising from the ovary bearing the stigma at its tip.

References

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Credits

Article from Bean's Trees and Shrubs Hardy in the British Isles

Recommended citation
'Abutilon' from the website Trees and Shrubs Online (treesandshrubsonline.org/articles/abutilon/). Accessed 2025-04-27.

Editorial Note

One of the most problematic genera in a taxonomically difficult family, Abutilon s.l. has gained a certain notoriety among plant systematists as a ‘dumping ground’ for species that did not obviously fit elsewhere in Malvaceae, so long as they lacked an epicalyx and had multiple ovules per carpel (Donnell, Ballard & Cantino 2012). Most of the hardy ‘abutilons’ treated by Bean have been moved to Corynabutilon, and the more tender taxa to Callianthe.

We have published this slightly edited genus article as part of a wider reorganisation of Malvaceae entries. This is part of a programme of work beginning in early 2025 to bring the nomenclature of articles in line with modern treatments. Historic Bean text will appear under its correct modern name, with appropriate synonymy, until we have funding to update the articles entirely. A full account of this genus will be provided when funds are available. If you would like to sponsor this work please write to editor@treesandshrubsonline.org

A genus of about 175 woody or herbaceous species, mostly tropical and sub-tropical in distribution. The cultivated species are soft-wooded plants with showy flowers borne singly in the leaf-axils, or in small panicles. As is common in the Mallow family the numerous stamens are united into a tube which surrounds the gynoecium; the ovary has several chambers and the style is divided into as many arms as there are chambers; the calyx may be tubular and only shortly five-lobed, or divided to the base into five segments; petals five. The fruit is dry and splits into segments (schizocarps), each of which opens to release a few seeds.