Chinese lantern flowers
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Abutilon × hybridum is a species name used for a wide variety of different types flowering plants of uncertain origin in the genus Abutilon.
Because of the uncertainty surrounding the name, they are often considered a cultivar group: Abutilon x Hybridum Group or Abutilon Hybridum Group. They are cultigens, not occurring in the wild. As with the larger Abutilon genus generally, they have been referred to by the common names Chinese lantern and parlour maple.
It is a popular group of hybrids that are semi-tropical shrubs, which reach 2-3 m in height. The Chinese lantern flowers open solitary, pendant, bell-shaped or cup-shaped, with a diameter of 8 cm with five superimposed petals and important staminal columns typical of the mauve family. The flowers appear in red, pink, yellow, white and pastel shades. The light green leaves are often variegated with white and yellow, lobed and similar to some maples (Acer).
No reliable source has settled the question of parentage for these plants, and they have been variously said to perhaps derive from the species Abutilon theophrasti, A. striatum, A. darwinii, A. pictum, or any of the South American species.
Descriptions vary widely; some sources have described them as short as "1 to 2 ½' tall", while others list them as reaching 15' in height.
Because of the uncertainty surrounding the name, they are often considered a cultivar group: Abutilon x Hybridum Group or Abutilon Hybridum Group. They are cultigens, not occurring in the wild. As with the larger Abutilon genus generally, they have been referred to by the common names Chinese lantern and parlour maple.
It is a popular group of hybrids that are semi-tropical shrubs, which reach 2-3 m in height. The Chinese lantern flowers open solitary, pendant, bell-shaped or cup-shaped, with a diameter of 8 cm with five superimposed petals and important staminal columns typical of the mauve family. The flowers appear in red, pink, yellow, white and pastel shades. The light green leaves are often variegated with white and yellow, lobed and similar to some maples (Acer).
No reliable source has settled the question of parentage for these plants, and they have been variously said to perhaps derive from the species Abutilon theophrasti, A. striatum, A. darwinii, A. pictum, or any of the South American species.
Descriptions vary widely; some sources have described them as short as "1 to 2 ½' tall", while others list them as reaching 15' in height.
