''Abutilon megapotamicum'' or ''Callianthe megapotamica'' (trailing abutilon) is a species of ''
Abutilon
''Abutilon'' is a large genus of flowering plants in the mallow family, Malvaceae. It is distributed throughout the tropics and subtropics[Argentina
Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, t ...]
,
Brazil
Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...
and
Uruguay
Uruguay (; ), officially the Oriental Republic of Uruguay ( es, República Oriental del Uruguay), is a country in South America. It shares borders with Argentina to its west and southwest and Brazil to its north and northeast; while bordering ...
. It is a
shrub growing to tall, with
leaves long, ovate to shallowly three-lobed. The
flower
A flower, sometimes known as a bloom or blossom, is the reproductive structure found in flowering plants (plants of the division Angiospermae). The biological function of a flower is to facilitate reproduction, usually by providing a mechanism ...
s are orange-yellow with a red base, with five petals about long.
It is a popular
ornamental plant
Ornamental plants or garden plants are plants that are primarily grown for their beauty but also for qualities such as scent or how they shape physical space. Many flowering plants and garden varieties tend to be specially bred cultivars that ...
in subtropical
garden
A garden is a planned space, usually outdoors, set aside for the cultivation, display, and enjoyment of plants and other forms of nature. The single feature identifying even the wildest wild garden is ''control''. The garden can incorporate bot ...
s. They bloom for months from summer to frost, and they decorate the plant with a profusion of blossoms resembling Chinese lanterns.
They are also known as flowering maple, Chinese lantern and parlour maple, in addition to trailing abutilon.
References
* LORENZI, H.; SOUZA, M.S. (2001) ''Plantas Ornamentais no Brasil: arbustivas, herbáceas e trepadeiras'
Plantarum
*
*
megapotamicum
Flora of Brazil
{{Malveae-stub