Abutilon hirtum
(Indian mallow)

Preferred Scientific Name

• Abutilon hirtum (Lam.) Sweet

Preferred Common Name

• Indian mallow

Other Scientific Names

• Abutilon graveolens (Roxb. ex Hornem.) Wight & Arn.
• Abutilon graveolens var. hirtum (Lam.) Mast.
• Abutilon graveolens var. queenslandicum Domin
• Abutilon heterotrichum Hochst. ex Mattei
• Abutilon hirtum var. heterotrichum (Hochst. ex Mattei) Cufod
• Abutilon indicum var. hirtum (Lam.) Griseb.
• Abutilon indicum var. yuanmouense K.M.Feng
• Abutilon kotschyi Hochst. ex Webb
• Abutilon lugardii Hochr. & Schinz
• Napaea incurva Moench
• Sida graveolens Roxb. ex Hornem.
• Sida hirta Lam.

International Common Names

• English: Florida Keys Indian mallow; Indian abutilon

Local Common Names

• Aruba: tresor
• Belize: pintor are pashuw
• China: dong kui zi; e wei qing ma
• Cuba: botón de oro
• Dominican Republic: yerba blanca
• India: atibala; belabenda; gondekaai; kanghi; malayalam; oorakam; tutturu benda
• Indonesia: bunga waktu kuning; kecemplock; kembang sore besar
• Kenya: asrilipog
• Lesser Antilles: buenas tardes; grosse mauve; marie-l’hôpital; mauve-savane
• Malaysia: angouri; bunga petang
• Mexico: botón de oro; malva lisa
• Montserrat: burry bark
• Namibia: onyiva
• Peru: rokotorokoto
• Puerto Rico: buenos días; buenos días
• Thailand: khrop chak krawaan; khrop see; top taap

• Domain: Eukaryota
•     Kingdom: Plantae
•         Phylum: Spermatophyta
•             Subphylum: Angiospermae
•                 Class: Dicotyledonae
•                     Order: Malvales
•                         Family: Malvaceae
•                             Genus: Abutilon
•                                 Species: Abutilon hirtum

Abutilon is a genus in the Malvaceae family which includes about 200 species of herbs, sub-shrubs, shrubs and small trees from the Americas, Africa, Asia and Australia (Fryxell, 1988; Flora of China Editorial Committee, 2015). Abutilon hirtum was described from India in 1826. The name Abutilon has various possible origins, Greek, Oriental, or Arabic. Most probably it derives from the Arabic "abu" (father of) and the Persian "tula" or "thula" (Malva or mallow); hirtum is a reference to the hairs (Fryxell, 1988). 

The following is from Malvaceae of Mexico (Fryxell, 1988):

Robust herbs ca. 1 m tall, the stems viscid and with long simple hairs 2-5 mm long. Leaf blades mostly 5-7 cm long, subrotund, cordate, finely serrate, acuminate, softly tomentose beneath, more sparsely pubescent above; petioles equaling to greatly exceeding the blades; stipules 7-9 mm long, lanceolate, recurved. Flowers solitary in the leaf axils but the inflorescence becoming a terminal panicle; pedicels 2-3.5 cm long; calyx 12-27 mm long, ca. half-divided, stellate-tomentulose; corolla rotate, with a dark red centre, the petals 18-20 mm long, orange-yellow; staminal column 7 mm long, pubescent, the filaments 4 mm long, the anthers yellow; styles 20-25. Fruits 12-14 mm long, ca. 2 cm in diameter, oblate, exceeding the calyx; mericarps 20-25, 3-seeded, apically obtuse to acute, stellate-hirsute, the hairs ca. 1 mm long; seeds 2.4-2.8 mm long, minutely scabridulous. 

No details were found for the introduction of the species or its spread into countries outside its native range. Earliest reports for the New World are: 1845 for Cuba by Sagra, who described it as a “spontaneous” plant for the island and escaping from gardens, where it is frequently cultivated; 1879-1915 for Panama by Godman and Salvin; and 1895-1897 by Gray for Key West, Florida ("and perhaps elsewhere”). Britton reports the species in 1920 as present in the Bahamas, Florida, Cuba, St. Thomas, Barbados and Jamaica. Sagra (1845) reports that the Cuban specimens are "identical" to the ones collected in India.

Soil drainage

• free

Soil reaction

• alkaline
• neutral

Soil texture

• light
• medium

A. hirtum is susceptible to various pests and the Okra Mosaic Virus (Cherian and Kylasam, 1947; Achigan-Dako, 2010; Sakthivel et al., 2012).) Since it is reported as a serious weed of agriculture, production could be affected if pests and the virus are carried into the crops (Achigan-Dako, 2010). The beetles Podagrica uniforma., P. sjostedti and Syagrus calcaratus are reported as vectors of the Okra Mosaic Virus and have been caught on A. hirtum plants near okra fields (Atiri, 1984). 

• Proved invasive outside its native range
• Has a broad native range
• Is a habitat generalist

• Negatively impacts agriculture

• Pest and disease transmission

• Highly likely to be transported internationally deliberately

A. hirtum is used in traditional medicine as a demulcent, diuretic, and to treat diarrhoea, bladder inflammations, wounds and ulcers (Kshirsgar and Singh, 2001; Wesley et al., 2013). Extracts of the leaves of A. hirtum show cytotoxic activities against human breast cancer cells (Wesley et al., 2013). Bark fibres are reported as used for clothes and rope-making (Brussell, 2004; Achigan-Dako, 2010).

Leaves are eaten by goats, camels and game animals (Achigan-Dako, 2010; Wesley et al., 2013). Whitten (1988) reports that the Vervet Monkey (Cercopithecus aethiops [Chlorocebus aethiops]) feeds on the flowers of A. hirtum, which was one of five species accounting for 60% of their feeding time.