Mallow
Abutilon
Herbaceous plant growing as a weed along a neighborhood footpath near Eldoret, Kenya, Africa. January 2012.
HERB: This specimen appeared primarily herbaceous, but Abutilon
species can also be shrubby.
FLOWERS: The flowers are bright yellow with five free petals. The stamen
tube is conspicuous with what appears to be long, erect filaments of the
numerous stamens.
LEAVES: The leaves are heart-shaped with thick, sandy pubescence.
RANGE: There are a number of mallows found in Kenya.
FRUIT: The fruit looks like a pleated hat box. Each 'pleat' represents a
separate carpel of the fruit. The segments remain together as the fruit matures
and dries and then each carpel splits open along a top seam revealing a seed in
each compartment.
UNARMED.