Plant: perennial herb or subshrub; with trailing branches, the stems minutely stellate-pubescent, sometimes also with simple hairs 1 mm long
Leaves: broadly ovate, up to 5 cm long (usually smaller), coarsely dentate, sparsely stellate-pubescent, concolorous
INFLORESCENCE: flowers solitary in the leaf axils
Flowers: calyx 3-5 mm long, the lobes reflexed in fruit; petals orange or pink, 4-7 mm long; staminal column 2 mm long, glabrous; styles 5
Fruit: a schizocarp, exceeding the calyx, 7-9 mm diameter, minutely stellate-pubescent; mericarps 5 (rarely 6), apically acute or apiculate; SEEDS 2 mm long, minutely pubescent
Misc: Dry plains and arid slopes; 750-1700 m (2500-5500 ft); flowering more or less throughout the year
Notes: Stamens monadelphous
References: Kearney & Peebles; Arizona Flora. McDougall; Seed plants of Northern Arizona. Hickman ed.; The Jepson Manual. ASU specimans. Fryxell, Paul A. 1994. Malvaceae. J. Ariz. - Nev. Acad. Sci. Volume 27(2), 222-236.
Duration: Perennial
Nativity: Native
Lifeform: Subshrub
General: Perennial herbs or subshrubs with trailing branches, stems minutely stellate-pubescent, sometimes also with simple hairs 1 mm long.
Leaves: Broadly ovate, up to 5 cm long, often smaller, coarsely dentate, sparsely stellate-pubescent, concolorous.
Flowers: Solitary in leaf axils, calyx 3-5 mm long, lobes reflexed in fruit, petals orange or pink, 4-7 mm diameter, minutely stellate-pubescent.
Fruits: Mericarps 5, apically acute or apiculate.
Ecology: Found on dry plains and arid slopes; 2,500-5,500 ft (762-1676 m); flowers throughout the year.
Distribution: s CA, s UT, AZ, s CO, NM, TX.
Notes: This perennial is often spreading, trailing, generally becoming tangled with itself and has leaves that glisten. The green of the leaf tissue showing through the sparser, longer-rayed pubescence on the lower sides of the leaf blade readily sets it apart in the field.
Ethnobotany: Unknown
Etymology: Abutilon is from the Arabic word for a mallow-like plant, while parvulum means somewhat small.
Synonyms: None
Editor: SBuckley 2010, FSCoburn 2015
