Abutilon longicuspe Hochst. ex A.Rich.

Malvaceae, A. W. Exell. Flora Zambesiaca 1:2. 1961

Habit

Perennial shrub up to 5 m. tall; stems when young somewhat angular to subterete, densely covered with a short velutinous to somewhat harsh stellate indumentum, usually of a greyish-olive colour and as a rule with long whitish spreading hairs (very rarely absent) at least on the very young parts, when older terete, glabrescent, woody and ultimately with a grey cortex, faintly fissured by rather short longitudinal markings.

Leaves

Leaf-lamina up to 20 × 18 cm. (much smaller in upper leaves), suborbicular-cordate or broadly ovate-cordate, acuminate, with a usually long narrow acumen and a deep narrow basal sinus, somewhat irregularly but usually distinctly crenate or serrate; the upper surface dark green, very shortly stellately subvelutinous, the lower surface much paler, grey, densely stellate-velutinous, and sometimes in addition with few-rayed to simple stiff stellate hairs mainly on the distinct prominent reticulate nervation and with long patent hairs on the main veins near the base; petiole usually about as long as the lamina, velutinous, with or without long patent hairs.

Flowers

Flowers pale mauve, lavender or lilac with deep-red-purple centre and radiating purple veins, numerous, axillary, on main branches and also on short axillary shoots, aggregated in terminal and lateral, ultimately leafless, often large pseudo-panicles; pedicels usually under 3 cm. long, velutinous, with or without pilose hairs, articulated in upper 6 mm.

Calyx

Calyx 4–6 mm. long, cupuliform, tomentose and sometimes also pilose; lobes 4–7 mm. long, triangular or ovate-triangular, acute or mucronate, tomentose-velutinous, with inconspicuous median veins.

Corolla

Petals c. 12 mm. long, obovate-obcuneate.

Stamens

Staminal tube deep red-purple and glabrous in conical portion, stellate-hairy at the apex.

Fruits

Mericarps 12–25, c. 10 × 5–6 mm., semi-orbicular-reniform, rounded and muticous, papery and brittle when mature, 1-seeded. Fruit c. 10 × 15 mm., subglobose to depressed-globose, umbilicate, densely stellate-hairy.

Seeds

Seeds c. 3 × 2 mm.

Malvaceae, Bernard Verdcourt & Geoffrey Mwachala. Pavonia, B Verdcourt; Kosteletzkya, OJ Blanchard Jr.; Gossypium, P Fryxell & B Verdcourt. Flora of Tropical East Africa. 2009

Type

Types: Ethiopia, Memsach, Genniam, Schimper 258 (P, syn.; BM!, FT, K! isosyn.) & near Adua, Mt Scholoda, Schimper 1511 (P, syn.; BM!, FT, K!, isosyn.)

Habit

Shrubby herb to softly woody shrub (even described as a small tree) 1–4.5(–5.5) m tall, sometimes clump-forming

Stem

Young stems and most of plant densely velvety stellate-tomentellous, sometimes slightly angular; older parts of stem with typical malvaceous pattern of longitudinal impressions

Leaves

Leaves somewhat discolorous; lamina ovate, 2.5–22 × 1.6–16 cm, acute to more usually acuminate to longacuminate at the apex, shallowly crenate or serrate, the fine stellate indumentum above not obscuring the green leaf surface but fine greyish tomentum covering the undersurface or with long hairs in some variants; petiole 1.5–15(–19) cm long; stipules linear, 6 mm long

Flowers

Flowers in terminal or lateral panicles up to 23 × 13 cm; pedicel 0.5–3(–4) cm long, the upper part beyond the joint 4 mm long; calyx 6–9(–12) mm long, brownish stellate-pubescent and sometimes with long hairs, lobed for 1/3 to 1/2 into oblong-ovate to triangular lobes 6–8 × 4–5 mm with midrib often raised

Corolla

Corolla white, pink, lilac or mauve often with a dark purple to inky blue centre (never yellow); petals obovate, 0.8–1.4(–2) × ± 1 cm.

Stamens

Staminal column often dark purple with characteristic transparent simple to 2–3-fid trichomes above (often flattened in dry state) but glabrous on the widened part though there may be long hairs at basal edge of petals

Fruits

Fruit depressed oblate, ± 9 mm long, 1.3–1.5 cm diameter, densely stellate-hairy when young Mericarps (13–)23–27, semicircularreniform, 6–10 × 4–7 mm, rounded above without a dorsal angle, 1-seeded

Seeds

Seed oblong-cordiform, 2 mm long, glabrous.