Background info
Abutilons can be shrubs or small trees, perennials and annuals, but those most commonly seen - and, indeed all those to be found on this site - are woody shrubs typically growing to between 100cm to 300cm in height, with a few, eg A. Vitifolium, getting a bit bigger than that. They can be found as native plants in Africa, Asia, Australia and the Americas, but most of those you will commonly come across are native to South America, or derived from species that are.
They are grown for their showy flowers, which are usually pendant, ie hang downwards, and are bell or bowl shaped - some open in shape, others rather more narrow, particularly those of A. Megapotamicum and hybrid cultivars developed from that species. The leaves, which are relatively large, vary in shape but are frequently lobed and like those of the maple tree (acer), giving abutilons the common name, particularly used in America, of flowering maple or parlour maple. Another common name, Indian Mallow, reflects the genus being a member of the Malvaceae (mallow) family.
Like many plants from farther-flung places in the world, abutilons were popularised in the UK by the Victorians who gave them pride of place in their greenhouses and conservatories. Indeed, some of the best varieties date back to that era, Canary Bird being a classic example of Victorian plant breeding.
What are abutilons?
Quite a few. The Plant List suggests there are 216 accepted species names in the genus Abutilon. Of those, the only ones you are likely to come across are A. Megapotamicum, the trailing abutilon, or one of the many named varieties derived from the species, or A. Pictum, the red-veined form that gives rise to splendid varieties like Red Tiger or Biltmore Ballgown. Then there is A. Vitifolium, but we are now supposed to be calling that Corynabutilon Vitifolium, so perhaps that doesn’t count. Most of the abutilons you are likely to encounter are hybrids of some kind. There is Abutilon x Milleri, a cross between A. Megapotamicum and A. Pictum, and Abutilon x Suntense (A. Ochsenii x A. Vitifolium), but here we are back in Corynabutilon territory. There is a move to reclassify a number of species as Callianthe, but we haven’t quite got our heads round that yet, and continue, rightly or wrongly, to refer to them all as abutilons.
Most cultivated abutilons are lumped under the label Abutilon x hybridum, a bit of a cop-out indicating that the parentage is unknown or lost in the mists of time. So, given that most plants that we know as abutilons will fall into this category, the question is: how many of them are there? Well, there is no definitive answer to that question. The RHS suggest that there are 231 varieties (or species) known to them, though not all of them are currently easy to find, as some have fleetingly appeared in their Plant Finder, only to drop out of circulation again. And that’s not taking account of all the wonderful varieties that are available across the Atlantic from places like Monterey Bay Nursery but haven’t found their way over here yet. But what that does tell us is that there is a lot of choice of varieties out there, and it will be a serious collector indeed who gets anywhere near to completing their collection! Eric and Teri Turner, holders of the Plant Heritage National Collection of abutilons, currently have 5 species and 126 named cultivars, so they’re not doing badly on that front.