ABUTILON 



ABUTILON 



ABtTTILON (name of obscure origin). Malvacece. 

 FLOWERING MAPLE. Attractive coolhouse shrubs and 

 window plants. Lvs. long-stalked, often maple-like: fls. 

 with naked 5-cleft calyx, 5 separate obovate petals, many 

 stamens united in a column about the many-branched 



4. Abutilon striatum (X Y_). 



style. Of very easy culture in conditions which are suit- 

 able for geraniums or fuchsias. Usually grown in pots, 

 but sometimes bedded out in summer. Dwarf and com- 

 pact varieties suitable for bedding are becoming popular. 

 The tall varieties are adaptable to growing on rafters 

 or pillars. A . 



striatum and A. ^, 



Thompsoni are 

 the commonest 

 type forms. Prop, 

 by greenwood cut- 

 tings at any sea- 

 son, preferably in 

 late winter or 



early spring ; also freely by seeds. Many 

 horticultural varieties, some of them no 

 doubt hybrids, are in common cultivation. 

 Following are well known : Arthur Bel- 

 sham, red, shaded gold. Boule de Neige, 

 pure white, very free. Eclipse, foliage 

 marbled green and yellow : fls. of fair size ; 

 sepals scarlet; petals orange-buff : suited 

 for baskets and vases : a form of A . mega- 

 potamicum (another Eclipse is known). 

 Erecta, pink orange-veined erect fls. Gol- 

 den Bell, deep yellow, free-flowering. Golden Fleece, 

 pure yellow, free-flowering. Mary Miller, deep rose 

 pendulous fls. Mrs. John Laing, purplish rose. Rosro- 

 flora, pinkish rose. Royal Scarlet, rich,, shining scarlet. 

 Santana, deep red. Savitzii, dwarf, with white-edged 

 foliage: useful for bedding. Snow Storm, semi-dwarf, 

 pure white. Souvenir de Bonn, Ivs. large, deep green, 

 not mottled, but edged with a broad white margin: dis- 

 tinct and striking: a useful bedding plant. Splendens, 

 bright red. 



A. Leaves prominently lobed, mostly maple-like or 



vine-like. 



B. Corolla widely open or spreading. 

 Darwini, Hook, f . Strong pubescent shrub 3-5 ft. : 

 Ivs. velvety pubescent beneath, thickish, 5-9-ribbed, the 



lower ones lobed to the middle, the upper ones shallow- 

 3-lobed: fls. 1-3 at a place, orange with blood-red veins. 

 Brazil. B.M. 5917. Blooms in both winter and summer. 

 Much hybridized with other species. A. grandiflbrum 

 and A. compdctum are garden forms ; also A. floribun- 

 dum, Hort., R. H. 1881: 350. 



BB. Corolla mostly longer and contracted at the mouth. 



striatum, Dicks. Fig. 4. Glabrous throughout: Ivs. thin, 

 deeply 5-lobed, the lobes long-pointed, rather closely ser- 

 rate, sometimes small-spotted: fls. rather small and slen- 

 der, hanging on peduncles 4-6 in. long, red or orange, 

 with brown-red veins, the stamens scarcely or not at all 

 exserted. Brazil. B.M. 3840. P.M. 7: 53. -One of the har- 

 diest species, blooming continuously. 



Th6mpsoni, Hort. Fig. 5. Graceful but strong-growing 

 plant : Ivs. vine-like, mostly 3-lobed, the middle lobe long- 

 pointed, thin and usually glabrous, mottled with green 

 and yellowish blotches: fls. medium size, yellow or 

 orange with red veins, the column of stamens conspicu- 

 ously exserted in the single forms. R.H. 1885: 324. G.W. 

 70:133. Blooms in summer and winter. An offshoot of 

 A . striatum, or a hybrid with that species. In the double- 

 fld. form, the fls. are open-spreading. Cions often convey 

 the variegation to the stock. Common and valuable. 



vendsum, Lemaire. Very strong grower: Ivs. large, 

 deeply palmate-lobed and strongly toothed : fls. large, 3 

 in. long, on peduncles 10-12 in. long. Mex. B.M. 4463. 

 A showy species. 

 AA. Leaves not lobed, cordate, but prominently toothed, 



sometimes angled. 

 B. Corolla wide-spreading. 



insigne, Planchon. (A. igneum, Hort.). Lvs. medium 

 size, crenate-dentate, acuminate, villous pubescent un- 

 derneath : fls. large, flaring-mouthed, white with very 

 heavy and rich veining and markings of purple and red, 

 on slender hanging peduncles. New Granada. B.M. 4840. 

 Gn. 18:263. Very showy; common. 



longicuspe, Hochst. White-canescent shrub, with long- 

 acuminate, broad-cordate and blunt-toothed long-stalked 

 Ivs., felt-like below: blue veiny wide-open fls. on mostly 

 many-branched axillary peduncles. Abyssinia. Re- 

 cently introduced by S. Cal. Acclimatizing Assoc., from 

 seed collected by Schweinfurth and distributed from 

 Berlin in 1893. 



BB. Corolla long 

 and narrow. 

 meg-apot amicum , 

 St. Hil. & Naud. 

 (A. vexillarium, 

 Morren). Fig.6. Droop- 

 ing habit : Ivs. rather 

 small, lapce - ovate, 

 acuminate, sharp-ser- 

 rate : fls. 2-3 in. long, 

 on short drooping 

 stalks, the long calyx 

 bright red, the pro- 

 truding petals lemon- 

 yellow, the column of 

 stamens conspicuously 

 protruding. Trop. Am. 

 B.M. 5717. Gn. 37: 745. J. H. III. 18: 359. -A strikingly 

 handsome species. Common in windows and baskets. 

 There is a variegated-leaved variety. Generally mis- 

 spelled mesapotamicum. 

 A.arboreum, Sweet. Lvs. cordate, tomentose: fls. pale yellow. 



5. Abutilon 



Thompsoni, 

 double (X 



