Abutilon Mill.

Annual or perennial herbs, undershrubs or shrubs. Leaves simple, entire or lobed, mostly cordate at base, acute or acuminate at apex, palminerved without nectaries. Flowers axillary, solitary, sometimes in lax panicles by reduction or decrescence of upper leaves, rarely in lax corymbose racemes; pedicels jointed in the upper half. Epicalyx absent. Calyx usually campanulate; lobes 5, divided to the middle or below. Corolla usually yellow, orange, white or pink, rarely with a dark purple centre, rotate, campanu- late. Staminal column shorter than petals, much widened at base. Carpels and style- branches 5 - 40, styles filiform to clavate, capitate stigmatose at apex. Schizocarps globular, campanulate, rarely discoid; mericarps 5 - 40, dehiscent, follicular, flattened- reniform, round, acuminate or biaristate at apex, often falling leaving a slender truncate, columella. Seeds 2 - 9 in each mericarp, reniform to subreniform, upper ones ascending; lower ones pendulous or horizontal, finally falling out of mericarp.

In tropical and subtropical regions of the World, ca 150 species; 12 in India.

KEY TO THE SPECIES

1a. Carpels 5 - 12

2

b. Carpels more than 15

10

2a. Carpels 5

3

b. Carpels 8 - 12

4

3a. Calyx lobes 7 - 10 mm long connate at base; staminal column ca 5.5 mm long, filaments ca 15 mm long

8. Abutilon persicum

b. Calyx lobes ca 2 cm long, connate up to the middle; staminal column ca 20 mm long, filaments ca 3 mm long

10. Abutilon ranadei

4a. Petals 25 - 45 cm long, erect, mostly red to orange

11. Abutilon striatum

b. Petals less than 2 cm long, spreading, yellow

5

5a. Schizocarp cylindric up to 1 cm long

6

b. Schizocarp ovoid to subcylindric, more than 1 cm long

7

6a. Pedicels shorter than petioles; mericarps awned; seeds ca 2 mm across, minutely puberulous; leaves glabrescent or minutely stellate-pubescent above and densely stellate-pubescent beneath

9. Abutilon ramosum

b. Pedicels equal to or longer than petioles; mericarps awnless; seeds 1 - 1.5 mm across,glabrate; leaves densely stellate-pubescent on both surfaces

2. Abutilon fruticosum

7a. Flowers axiilary, solitary or 2 - 3 in clusters or in terminal racemes by the reduction of upper leaves; schizocarp ovoid

8

b. Flowers 2 - 5 in axillary, up to 10 cm long, peduncled cymes, rarely solitary; schizocarp subcylindric

5. Abutlilon neilgherrense

8a. Staminal column stellate-hairy; mericarps with erect, less than 1 mm long awns

9

b. Staminal column glabrous: mericarps with 2 erecto-patent 3 - 7 mm long awns

12. Abutilon theophrasti

9a. Plants densely covered with long spreading patent simple hairs; calyx lobes longer or as long as schizocarp

0. Abutilon grandifolium

b. Plants covered with appressed stellate hairs; calyx lobes shorter than schizocarp

6. Abutilon pakistanicum

10a. Stems, petioles and pedicels with dense long patent simple hairs, few minute stellate hairs and short viscid glandular hairs; corolla orange yellow with a purple centre

3. Abutilon hirtum

b. Stems, petioles and pedicels densely stellate-pubescent with few simple hairs; corolla with or without purple centre

11

11a. Corolla yellow to pale yellow without purple centre, calyx lobes ovate to lanceolate; mericarps dorsally and ventrally stellate-hairy; leaves ovate-cordate

12

b. Corolla yellow with deep brown center; calyx lobes deltoid to ovate; mericarps hairy on dorsal margin; leaves orbicular to rotund-cordate

7. Abutilon pannosum

12a. Staminal column 2 - 3 mm long; schizocarps ca 1 cm across; mericarps ca 10 x 5 mm, gradually acuminate

1. Abutilon bidentatum

b. Staminal column 5 - 7 mm long; schizocarps 1.5 - 2.5 cm across; mericarps 10 - 15 x 7 - 10 mm, acute to acuminate, obtuse or rounded

4. Abutilon indicum

List of Lower Taxa