Mallow

Abutilon

an Abutilon species from Eldoret, Kenya, photo © by Michael Plagens

Herbaceous plant growing as a weed along a neighborhood footpath near Eldoret, Kenya, Africa. January 2012.

HERB: This specimen appeared primarily herbaceous, but Abutilon species can also be shrubby.

FLOWERS: The flowers are bright yellow with five free petals. The stamen tube is conspicuous with what appears to be long, erect filaments of the numerous stamens.

LEAVES: The leaves are heart-shaped with thick, sandy pubescence.

RANGE: There are a number of mallows found in Kenya.

FRUIT: The fruit looks like a pleated hat box. Each 'pleat' represents a separate carpel of the fruit. The segments remain together as the fruit matures and dries and then each carpel splits open along a top seam revealing a seed in each compartment.

UNARMED.

Malvaceae -- Mallow Family

More Information:


Kenya Natural History

Copyright Michael J. Plagens, Created on 27 September 2012