Hairy Indian mallow

Description

Abutilon grandifolium, the hairy Indian mallow, is a large shrub that is up to 3 m (9.8 ft) high with broad, 3–18 cm (1.2–7.1 in) leaf blades. Flowers are axillary, with a yellow corolla 2–3.5 cm (0.8–1.4 in) across, composed of petals 1–1.5 cm (0.4–0.6 in) long. The fruits are ovoid-globular schizocarps that are 1–1.5 cm (0.4–0.6 in) in diameter and composed of ten shortly beaked mericarps, containing 2-3 seeds each. A. grandifolium can be distinguished from A. theophrasti by long, simple hairs on the stem rather than stellate hairs. The species is native to tropical America[1] and Central and South Africa,[2] but it is naturalised in other parts of the world, including the Canary Islands, Hawaii and in shrubland and loamy areas of Australia. In Western Australia it was found in Swan Coastal Plain.