Red Vein Splendor: A Guide to Abutilon Pictum Flowers

The Abutilon pictum, commonly known as Flowering Maple, Chinese Lantern, or Red Vein Indian Mallow, is a beloved evergreen shrub. Its perennial leaves, unique flower shape, extended blooming period, and ease of propagation make it highly favored.

The Flowering Maple grows in clusters, with erect stems and thick, dark green leaves that can be ovate or palmate with serrated edges.

As the flower buds swell, their slender stems move from upright to drooping, resulting in a distinctive pendulous bloom.

The bell-shaped flowers are orange-yellow, adorned with vivid purple-red veins, and the stamens and styles protrude from the corolla, giving the appearance of golden bells, from which the plant gets its name.

The flowering season spans from May to October, and the plant is native to South American countries like Brazil and Uruguay.

Both the leaves and flowers of the Flowering Maple are used in traditional medicine to promote blood circulation, relieve bruises, and ease muscle tension caused by falls and injuries.

I. Morphological Characteristics

This evergreen shrub can reach up to 1 meter in height. Its palmately lobed leaves are 5-8 centimeters in diameter with 3-5 deep lobes, tapering to a pointed tip, and serrated or coarsely toothed edges.

The foliage is either hairless or sparsely covered with star-shaped soft hairs on the underside. The petioles are 3-6 centimeters long and hairless, and the stipules are lance-shaped, about 8 millimeters long, and tend to fall off early.

The flowers are solitary and axillary, with drooping pedicels 7-10 centimeters long and hairless.

The calyx is bell-shaped, about 2 centimeters long, with five egg-shaped lanceolate lobes deeply split to three-quarters of the calyx length, densely covered with brown star-shaped short soft hairs.

The bell-shaped flowers are orange-yellow with purple stripes, 3-5 centimeters long, and about 3 centimeters in diameter. There are five petals, ovate and sparsely hairy on the outside.

The stamen column is about 3.5 centimeters long with numerous brown-yellow anthers clustered at the column’s end.

The ovary is blunt and hairy with ten purple, stylar branches that protrude beyond the stamen column’s tip. The fruit has not been observed. The flowering period is from May to October.

II. Growing Environment

The Flowering Maple thrives in a warm, humid climate and is not frost-tolerant. In northern regions, it is cultivated in pots and can survive winter temperatures as low as 3 to 5 degrees Celsius. It tolerates poor soil, but prefers fertile, moist, well-drained, and slightly acidic soil.

III. Distribution Range

Originally from South America, particularly Brazil and Uruguay, the Flowering Maple is commonly cultivated as a greenhouse plant.

IV. Growth and Propagation

Propagation Method

Cuttings are used for propagation, ideally taken from June to August. Cuttings should be 10-12 centimeters long, taken from robust one to two-year-old branches or semi-lignified shoots of the current year.

Remove the lower leaves and insert the cuttings halfway or a third deep into the soil, ensuring they are kept moist.

Planting Methods

Propagation is achieved through cuttings from strong one to two-year-old branches or semi-lignified shoots of the current year. Pruning the plant to promote branching is beneficial for flowering.

In regions north of the Yangtze River in China, greenhouse cultivation is practiced. Young plants can be pruned at the top to improve light conditions, increase lateral branches, expand the crown, and promote flowering.

Two-year-old Flowering Maple plants propagated by cuttings can reach about 2 meters in height with a main stem diameter of 2-3 centimeters.

The stems are gray-green in color, turning to gray or gray-brown in perennial plants. The plant has a robust ability to sprout new shoots in spring, with branches emerging from leaf axils.

The current year’s branches are green and less lignified, making them flexible. There are two types of leaves: one is ovate, about 10 centimeters long, with a uniformly thick petiole, and the other is palmate, 12-18 centimeters long.

The leaves are arranged in whorls of 4-9 leaves per whorl. In areas with good lighting or on strong plants, the leaves tend to be palmate, whereas in areas with poor lighting or on weaker plants, the leaves are ovate.

V. Main Values

Ornamental Value

The Flowering Maple is a highly ornamental plant in gardens, suitable for flower beds, borders, potted arrangements, and hanging baskets.

Medicinal Value

The leaves and flowers of the Flowering Maple are used to stimulate blood circulation, dispel blood stasis, and relax muscles and tendons, often in the treatment of bruises and injuries.