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Abutilon megapotamicum

Abutilon megapotamicum: Flowers
Photo by Ken Fern. High resolution version

Common name:	Trailing Abutilon	Family:	Malvaceae
Author:	(Spreng.)A.St.-Hil.&Naudin.	Botanical references:	11, 200
Synonyms:	Abutilon vexillarium (E.C.Morren.)
Known Hazards:	None known
Range:	S. America - Brazil.
Habitat:	Widely cultivated in the Tropics and not known in a truly wild situation.
Edibility Rating (1-5):	2	Medicinal Rating (1-5):	0

Other Possible Synonyms:	From various places across the web, may not be correct. See below.
	Sida megapotamica[G]
Systematics:	From a USDA Plants Database
	Order: Malvales. Mallow family

Physical Characteristics

An evergreen shrub growing to 2m by 2m . It is hardy to zone 8. It is in leaf all year, in flower from April to September. The flowers are hermaphrodite (have both male and female organs). We rate it 2/5 for edibility and 0/5 for medicinal use.

The plant prefers light (sandy), medium (loamy) and heavy (clay) soils. The plant prefers acid, neutral and basic (alkaline) soils. It can grow in semi-shade (light woodland) or no shade. It requires moist soil.

Habitats and Possible Locations

Woodland, Sunny Edge, By Walls, By South Wall, By West Wall.

Edible Uses

Flowers.

Flowers - cooked. Used as a vegetable[183]. A pleasant sweet flavour, we like to eat them raw[K]. The flowers produce nectar all the time they are open so, assuming the plant is grown indoors and is not visited by pollinating insects, the sweetness increases the longer the flower is open[K].

Medicinal Uses

Disclaimer

None known

Other Uses

None known

Cultivation details

Requires a sunny position or part day shade in a fertile well-drained soil[200]. Dislikes drought[200].
This species is only hardy in the mildest areas of Britain, tolerating temperatures down to between -5 to -10°c when given the protection of a south or south-west facing wall[11, 184, 200]. A deep mulch in winter and tying in growth to the wall will maximise protection in winter[200]. If the plant is cut back by cold weather, it will normally resprout from the base in the spring and can flower on the current year's growth[202].
Dead-heading plants to prevent seeding can enhance longevity[200].
Tip-prune young plants to promote a bushy habit, older plants can be cut back hard annually in spring if required[200].
There are some named forms, selected for their ornamental value[200]. There is a variegated form in cultivation, this variegation is as a result of infection by abutilon mosaic virus[184, 200].
Plants in this genus are notably resistant to honey fungus[200].

Propagation

Seed - sow spring in a greenhouse[200]. Germination should take place within a few weeks. Once the seedlings are large enough to handle, prick them out into individual pots. Grow them on for at least the first winter in a greenhouse and plant out in late spring or early summer, after the last expected frosts.
Cuttings of young shoots, June in a frame[200]. Grow on in the greenhouse for their first winter and plant out in spring after the last expected frosts.
Cuttings of half-ripe wood, July/August in a frame[200]. Grow on in the greenhouse for their first winter and plant out in spring after the last expected frosts.

Cultivars

'': No entries have been made for this species as yet.

Suppliers

For more details of plant suppliers please see our Suppliers Page which lists many more places to look.

Web References

[H] Details of Scandanavian and European Common names in Henriette's names database
[G] Data (Common Names, Uses, Distribution) from the USDA/ARS NPGS's GRIN taxonomic database.
[HP] Links, Photos, Suppliers from Hortiplex Plant Database

References for the family Malvaceae.

[CHINA] Draft Data Very detailed botanical/identification info. from the Flora of China.

See the PFAF Links Pages for other sources.

Also try Photos and info from the The Plants Database which has 14,000 images.

References

[K] Ken Fern
Notes from observations, tasting etc at Plants For A Future and on field trips.

[11] Bean. W. Trees and Shrubs Hardy in Great Britain. Vol 1 - 4 and Supplement. Murray 1981
A classic with a wealth of information on the plants, but poor on pictures.

[183] Facciola. S. Cornucopia - A Source Book of Edible Plants. Kampong Publications 1990 ISBN 0-9628087-0-9
Excellent. Contains a very wide range of conventional and unconventional food plants (including tropical) and where they can be obtained (mainly N. American nurseries but also research institutes and a lot of other nurseries from around the world.

[184] Phillips. R. & Rix. M. Shrubs. Pan Books 1989 ISBN 0-330-30258-2
Excellent photographs and a terse description of 1900 species and cultivars.

[200] Huxley. A. The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992. MacMillan Press 1992 ISBN 0-333-47494-5
Excellent and very comprehensive, though it contains a number of silly mistakes. Readable yet also very detailed.

[202] Davis. B. Climbers and Wall Shrubs. Viking. 1990 ISBN 0-670-82929-3
Contains information on 2,000 species and cultivars, giving details of cultivation requirements. The text is terse but informative.

Readers Comments

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Plant information taken from the Plants For A Future - Species Database. Copyright (c) 1997-2003.
WEB search engine by Rich Morris - Home Page- Contact Info
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Website: www.pfaf.org Phone: 0845 458 4719/_44(0) 1208 872963

This page (UK) http://www.comp.leeds.ac.uk/cgi-bin/pfaf/arr_html?Abutilon+megapotamicum
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