Plant: shrub; 1-2 m tall, the stems and petioles with spreading simple hairs 2-4 mm long

Leaves: broadly ovate or weakly lobulate, 10-20 cm long, irregularly dentate, softly pubescent, markedly discolorous.

INFLORESCENCE: a terminal panicle rising above the leaves

Flowers: calyx 4-6 mm long; petals 5-8 mm long; staminal column glabrous; styles ca. 10

Fruit: FRUITS a schizocarp, exceeding calyx, 8-10 mm diameter, stellate-pubescent; mericarps ca. 10, short -apiculate. SEEDS ca. 2 mm long, minutely verruculate

Misc: Grasslands and along waterways; 900-1400 m (3000-4500 ft); Sep-Dec

REFERENCES: Fryxell, Paul A. 1994. Malvaceae. J. Ariz. - Nev. Acad. Sci. Volume 27(2), 222-236.

Duration: Perennial

Nativity: Native

Lifeform: Subshrub

General: Perennial forb, subshrub or shrubs 1-2 m tall, stems and petioles with spreading simple hairs 2-4 mm long.

Leaves: Broadly ovate or weakly lobulate, 10-20 cm long, irregularly dentate, softly pubescent, markedly discolorous.

Flowers: In ample terminal panicle rising above leaves, calyx 4-6 mm long, petals 5-8 mm long, staminal column glabrous, around 10 styles.

Fruits: Exceeding calyx, 8-10 mm diameter, stellate-pubescent, mericarps 10, short-apiculate.

Ecology: Found in grasslands and along waterways; 3,000-4,500 ft (914-1372 m); flowers September-December.

Distribution: s AZ, sw NM; s to MEX.

Notes: Easy to identify because of its large size, 1-2 m tall; stems with long, spreading hairs; huge leaves which are more gray-green underneath; and flower size.

Ethnobotany: Unknown 

Etymology: Abutilon is from the Arabic word for a mallow-like plant.

Synonyms: Abutilon sonorae, Abutilon mollicomum

Editor: SBuckley 2010, FSCoburn 2015