VELVET LEAF
Abutilon theophrasti
MALLOW FAMILY (Malvaceae)
Identification
- Flowering time - July, August, September, October
- Uncommon in disturbed areas at FF & NW
- Orange yellow flowers with 5 petals
- Soft, velvety heart-shaped leaves
- Flat-topped fruit with spines around the top
This naturalized annual was introduced from India. Up to 7 feet tall, with thick stems and heart-shaped leaves up to 6 inches across (D), all parts of this plant are velvety-hairy. The yellow to orange flowers have 5 petals and are about 1 inch across (A,B). The fruit is a flat-topped capsule about 1 inch across with many small spines around its upper margin. It is first green, then turns black and holds many black seeds (C).
Found on recently disturbed areas and waste ground, flowering from July through October. For a plant so common in our area, Velvet Leaf is not often seen at our nature centers, likely reflecting the lack of suitable areas of disturbed ground needed by this opportunistic annual weed.
The stems yield a strong fiber used in making twine and rugs in India and China. It has become one of our more serious weeds in row crops. A single plant is capable of producing thousands of seeds which can remain dormant for decades only to germinate when conditions are favorable.
Other common names include Butterprint, Piemaker and Button Weed.
The content of NatureSearch is provided by dedicated volunteer Naturalists of Fontenelle Forest who strive to provide the most accurate information available. Contributors of the images retain their copyrights. The point of contact for this page is: Neal Ratzlaff.