If you would like to support this site, please consider Donating.
Useful Tropical Plants

Callianthe picta

(Gillies ex Hook. & Arn.) Donnell

Malvaceae


Callianthe picta is taken here to include Callinthe striata as a synonym. Callianthe striata is very similar to Callianthe picta and is often considered to be a distinct species[
1834
Title
Synopsis of Abutilon (Malvoideae, Malvaceae) in the state of São Paulo, Brazil
Publication
Phytotaxa 44: 39-57 (2012)
Author
Takeuchi C. & Esteves G.L.
Publisher
 
Year
2012
ISBN
1179-3155
Description
 
]

+ Synonyms

Abutilon pictum (Gillies. ex Hook. & Arn.) Walp.

Abutilon pleniflorum N.E.Br.

Abutilon pseudostriatum Hochr.

Abutilon striatum G.Dickson. ex Lindl.

Abutilon thompsonii André

Abutilon thompsonii H.J.Veitch

Sida picta Gillies ex Hook.

Sida striata (Dicks. ex Lindl.) D.Dietr.

Common Name: Abutilon

No Image.

General Information

Abutilon pictum is an evergreen shrub growing up to 5 metres tall.
This species is often cultivated as an ornamental plant in warm temperate to tropical areas, the edible flowers are consumed locally.

Known Hazards

None known

Botanical References

200
Title
The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992.
Publication
 
Author
Huxley. A.
Publisher
MacMillan Press
Year
1992
ISBN
0-333-47494-5
Description
Excellent and very comprehensive, though it contains a number of silly mistakes. Readable yet also very detailed.

Range

S. America - southern Brazil, Argentina, Paraguay and Uruguay.

Habitat

Cultivated as an ornamental plant, it is not known in a truly wild situation.

Properties

Edibility Rating *  *  *
Medicinal Rating *  *
HabitEvergreen Shrub
Height5.00 m
PollinatorsInsects
Cultivation StatusCultivated, Ornamental

Cultivation Details

Abutilon pictum is a plant of the warm temperate to subtropical zones, it is intolerant of temperatures that fall much below 0°c[
260
Title
Conservatory and Indoor Plants Volumes 1 & 2
Publication
 
Author
Phillips. R. & Rix. M.
Publisher
Pan Books, London.
Year
1998
ISBN
0-330-37376-5
Description
Excellent photos of over 1,100 species and cultivars with habits and cultivation details plus a few plant uses. Many species are too tender for outdoors in Britain though there are many that can be grown outside.
].
Requires a sunny position or part day shade in a fertile well-drained soil[
200
Title
The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992.
Publication
 
Author
Huxley. A.
Publisher
MacMillan Press
Year
1992
ISBN
0-333-47494-5
Description
Excellent and very comprehensive, though it contains a number of silly mistakes. Readable yet also very detailed.
]. Dislikes drought[
200
Title
The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992.
Publication
 
Author
Huxley. A.
Publisher
MacMillan Press
Year
1992
ISBN
0-333-47494-5
Description
Excellent and very comprehensive, though it contains a number of silly mistakes. Readable yet also very detailed.
].
There are several named varieties[
200
Title
The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992.
Publication
 
Author
Huxley. A.
Publisher
MacMillan Press
Year
1992
ISBN
0-333-47494-5
Description
Excellent and very comprehensive, though it contains a number of silly mistakes. Readable yet also very detailed.
]. Several of the cultivars have golden-variegated leaves caused by a virus infection, this infection can spread to other plants[
260
Title
Conservatory and Indoor Plants Volumes 1 & 2
Publication
 
Author
Phillips. R. & Rix. M.
Publisher
Pan Books, London.
Year
1998
ISBN
0-330-37376-5
Description
Excellent photos of over 1,100 species and cultivars with habits and cultivation details plus a few plant uses. Many species are too tender for outdoors in Britain though there are many that can be grown outside.
].
Tip-prune young plants to promote a bushy habit[
200
Title
The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992.
Publication
 
Author
Huxley. A.
Publisher
MacMillan Press
Year
1992
ISBN
0-333-47494-5
Description
Excellent and very comprehensive, though it contains a number of silly mistakes. Readable yet also very detailed.
]. Older plants tend to get rather leggy, but can be cut back almost to the base in order to promote new growth. This is best done in late winter as the plant starts to come into growth[
260
Title
Conservatory and Indoor Plants Volumes 1 & 2
Publication
 
Author
Phillips. R. & Rix. M.
Publisher
Pan Books, London.
Year
1998
ISBN
0-330-37376-5
Description
Excellent photos of over 1,100 species and cultivars with habits and cultivation details plus a few plant uses. Many species are too tender for outdoors in Britain though there are many that can be grown outside.
].
Plants in this genus are notably resistant to honey fungus[
200
Title
The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992.
Publication
 
Author
Huxley. A.
Publisher
MacMillan Press
Year
1992
ISBN
0-333-47494-5
Description
Excellent and very comprehensive, though it contains a number of silly mistakes. Readable yet also very detailed.
].

Edible Uses

Flowers - raw or cooked. A delicious sweet flavour[
K
Title
Plants for a Future
Author
Ken Fern
Description
Notes from observations, tasting etc at Plants For A Future and on field trips.
]. The flowers produce nectar all the time they are open so, assuming the plant is grown indoors and is not visited by pollinating insects, the sweetness increases the longer the flower is open[
K
Title
Plants for a Future
Author
Ken Fern
Description
Notes from observations, tasting etc at Plants For A Future and on field trips.
].

Medicinal

An infusion of the open flower is drunk as a remedy for headaches[
1669
Title
An ethnobotanical survey of medicinal plants used in Loja and Zamora-Chinchipe, Ecuador
Publication
Journal of Ethnopharmacology 111 (2007) 63-81
Author
Tene V. et al
Website
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jep.2006.10.032
Publisher
 
Year
2007
ISBN
0378-8741
Description
 
].

Other Uses

The bark, which peels readily, furnishes a fibre of fine texture. Not used at present, it is worthy of experiment[
454
Title
Useful Fiber Plants of the World
Publication
 
Author
Dodge C.R.
Website
http://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/
Publisher
USDA; Washington.
Year
1897
ISBN
 
Description
A rather dated, but very comprehensive catalogue of fibre plants from around the world. The book can be downloaded from the Internet.
]. (As Abutilon striatum)

Propagation

Seed - germination should take place within a few weeks. Once the seedlings are large enough to handle, prick them out into individual pots and grow them on until large enough to plant out.
Cuttings of young shoots[
200
Title
The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992.
Publication
 
Author
Huxley. A.
Publisher
MacMillan Press
Year
1992
ISBN
0-333-47494-5
Description
Excellent and very comprehensive, though it contains a number of silly mistakes. Readable yet also very detailed.
].
Cuttings of half-ripe wood[
200
Title
The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992.
Publication
 
Author
Huxley. A.
Publisher
MacMillan Press
Year
1992
ISBN
0-333-47494-5
Description
Excellent and very comprehensive, though it contains a number of silly mistakes. Readable yet also very detailed.
].
Cite as: Tropical Plants Database, Ken Fern. tropical.theferns.info. 2024-03-28. <tropical.theferns.info/viewtropical.php?id=Callianthe+picta>

Add a Comment:

If you have any useful information about this plant, please leave a comment. Comments have to be approved before they are shown here.