滇西苘麻 dian xi qing ma

Abutilon sinense Oliver var. yunnanense Hochreutiner.

Shrubs, to 3 m tall. Branchlets gray stellate tomentose. Stipules subulate, ca. 5 mm, caducous; leaf blade ovate-cordate, 4-8 × 4-8 cm, both surfaces densely tomentose, base cordate, margin irregularly crenate, apex long caudate-acuminate. Flowers solitary, axillary, large. Pedicel 1-2 cm, densely tomentose, apically articulate. Sepals cup-shaped, 2-2.5 cm, densely tomentose, lobes 5, lanceolate. Corolla orange; petals cuneate-obovate, 4-6 cm. Staminal column ca. 5 cm, glabrous. Ovary 8-10-loculed. Schizocarp ca. 2 cm; mericarps 8-10, tomentose, apex pointed, pericarp leathery. Seeds reniform, ca. 2 mm in diam., sparsely hispid. Fl. Jan-Feb.

● Scrub in dry hot river valleys; 700-2500 m. SW Yunnan.

Abutilon gebauerianum is similar to A. sinense, but it can be distinguished by its densely tomentose and crenate leaves and even larger flowers.