Abutilon fruticosum Guill. & Perr.

Abutilon species are herbs, undershrubs or shrubs. Erect or procument, Branches with simple prickly or stellate hairs. Leaves simple or sometimes lobed, alternate, usually base cordate, margins crenate-dentate, apex acute to acuminate, palminerved without nectaries, petiolate, stipules persistent or caducous. Inflorescence usually axillary or terminal, solitary or aggregated lax panicles or corymbose racemes. Flowers bisexual, pedicel slender, jointed in the upper half, epicalyx absent, calyx 5 lobed, campanulate, base connate, valvate, corolla large, 5, yellow, white, orange, sometimes with dark colored in the centre. Stamens usually shorter than petals, base wide, filaments short, anthers basifixed, usually clustered. Ovary superior, 5-20 locular, ovules 2-9 per carpel, style branched 5-40, filiform to clavate, stigma capitate. Fruit schizocarp, ovoid-subglobular, campanulate, apex biaristate or acuminate, usually black when mature, with 5-40 mericarps, dehiscent, with a slender truncate columella scar when fallen. Seed many, reniform or subreniform, smooth, glabrous or shortly pubescent.

Abutilon species flowers are complete, bisexual, i.e., with functional male (androecium) and female (gynoecium), including stamens, carpels and ovary. Pollination is entomophilous i.e., by insects, or cleistogamy i.e., by self or allogamy i.e., by cross pollination. Flowering/Fruiting: August—September/September—January.

Seeds may be dispersed by autochory i.e., self dispersal, anemochory i.e., wind dispersal, zoochory i.e., dispersal by birds or animals, anthropochory i.e., dispersal by humans.

Undershrubs, about 0.5-1.2 m tall. Stems, woody densely pubescent with minute simple whitish stellate hairs, when young. Leaves simple, alternate, broadly ovate-cordate to oblong, about 1.5-2.6 x 1.2-2.2 cm across, base cordate, about 5-9 nerved, margins crenate-dentate, apex acute, densely pubescent with simple whitish hairs both above and beneath, petiole, stellate pubescent, about 5-7 mm long, stipules linear subulate, about 1.5-3 mm long. Inflorescence usually axillary or subterminal, solitary. Flowers bisexual, pedicel slender, jointed in the upper half, pubescent, about 5-9 mm long, epicalyx absent, calyx 5 lobed, campanulate, base connate, valvate, divided from middle, apex acute or acuminate, about 4-6 mm across, lobes ovate, apex acute, stellate pubescent with simple hairs outside, simple long hairs inside, about 4-5 x 2-3 mm across, corolla large, 5, yellow, trinerved, petals obovate, glabrous, about 6-10 x 4-5 mm across. Stamens usually shorter than petals, base wide, stellate hairy, about 3-4 mm long, filaments about 0.5-1 mm long, anthers basifixed, usually clustered. Ovary superior, 5-20 locular, ovules 2-9 per carpel, style branched 5-40, filiform to clavate, stigma capitate. Fruit schizocarp, ovoid-subglobular, about 0.5-1 cm across, campanulate, apex biaristate or acute, usually black when mature, pale greenish, with 10 mericarps, oblong, margins dense with stellate hairs, apex bidentate, dehiscent, sparsely stellate tomentose, about 5-11 x 5-6 mm across. Seeds many, reniform or subreniform, about 1.5 mm across, shortly pubescent, later becoming glabrate with stout whitish or brownish hairs.

Abutilon species are susceptible to various insect pests, virus and fungi, affecting leaves, fruits and roots.

Dry deciduous forests, altitude up to 400 m.

Not evaluated (IUCN).

Used as folk medicine.