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Abutilon purpurascens

Common name:		Family:	Malvaceae
Author:	(Link.)Schum.	Botanical references:	200
Synonyms:	Abutilon esculentum (A.St.-Hil.)
Known Hazards:	None known
Range:	S. America - Brazil.
Habitat:	Not known
Edibility Rating (1-5):	2	Medicinal Rating (1-5):	0

Epithets:	From a Dictionary of Botanical Epithets
	purpurascens = purplish;
Systematics:	From a USDA Plants Database
	Order: Malvales. Mallow family

Physical Characteristics

An evergreen shrub growing to 2.4m. It is hardy to zone 9. It is in leaf all year, in flower from July to August. The flowers are hermaphrodite (have both male and female organs) and are pollinated by Insects. We rate it 2/5 for edibility and 0/5 for medicinal use.

The plant prefers light (sandy), medium (loamy) and heavy (clay) soils and requires well-drained soil. The plant prefers acid, neutral and basic (alkaline) soils. It can grow in semi-shade (light woodland) or no shade. It requires dry or 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[1, 2, 105, 177].

Medicinal Uses

Disclaimer

None known

Other Uses

None known

Cultivation details

Requires full sun or part day shade and a fertile well-drained soil[200].
Plants are not very hardy in Britain, they tolerate light frosts and so can be grown outdoors in the mildest areas of the country but are best if given a minimum temperature of 10°c over the winter[133]. It is probably best to grow them outdoors in a tub during the summer and overwinter them indoors from October to April or May[1].
Plants in this genus are notably resistant to honey fungus[200].

Propagation

Seed - sow March in a warm greenhouse. The seed germinates in 3 - 4 weeks at 15°c[133]. When large enough to handle, prick the seedlings out into individual pots and grow them on in the greenhouse for at least their first winter. Plant them out in late spring or early summer, after the last expected frosts, and consider giving them some protection from the cold for their first winter outdoors.
Cuttings of young shoots in spring. Very easy, they root quickly[1].
Cuttings of half-ripe wood, July in a frame[200]. Very easy, they root quickly[1].
Cuttings of mature wood, November in a cold frame.

Suppliers

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

Web References

[HP] Links, Photos, Suppliers from Hortiplex Plant Database

References for Abutilon esculentum (a possible synonym).

[H] Details of Scandanavian and European Common names in Henriette's names 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

[1] F. Chittendon. RHS Dictionary of Plants plus Supplement. 1956 Oxford University Press 1951
Comprehensive listing of species and how to grow them. Somewhat outdated, it has been replaces in 1992 by a new dictionary (see [200]).

[2] Hedrick. U. P. Sturtevant's Edible Plants of the World. Dover Publications 1972 ISBN 0-486-20459-6
Lots of entries, quite a lot of information in most entries and references.

[105] Tanaka. T. Tanaka's Cyclopaedia of Edible Plants of the World. Keigaku Publishing 1976
The most comprehensive guide to edible plants I've come across. Only the briefest entry for each species, though, and some of the entries are more than a little dubious. Not for the casual reader.

[133] Rice. G. (Editor) Growing from Seed. Volume 1. Thompson and Morgan. 1987
Very readable magazine with lots of information on propagation.

[177] Kunkel. G. Plants for Human Consumption. Koeltz Scientific Books 1984 ISBN 3874292169
An excellent book for the dedicated. A comprehensive listing of latin names with a brief list of edible parts.

[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.

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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