Abutilon theophrasti

Abutilon theophrasti, Velvetleaf, butter-print, butter-weed,cotton-weed,
Hebrew:אבוטלון תאופרססטוסת, Arabic: أبو طيلون ابن سينا


Scientific name:		Abutilon theophrasti Medicus
Synonym name:		Abutilon avicennae Gaertn.
Common name:		Velvetleaf, Velvet Leaf Butterprint, butter-print, butter-weed,cotton-weed
Hebrew name:		אבוטלון תאופרססטוס
Arabic name:		أبو طيلون ابن سينا , ‘abu tilun abn sina
Family:		Malvaceae, Mallow Family, משפחה חלמיתיים

_{Illustration in B. Besler, 1613, Hortus Eystettensis, classis æstiva, Ordo 6, Fol. 10, fig. I.}


Life form:		Annual
Spinescence:		Absent
Succulence:		Non-succulent
Stems:		Stems and twigs hairy
Leaves:		Simple, alternate, ovate-orbicular, cordate, palmately-veined, velvety
Inflorescence:		Solitary in leaf axils or on short axillary branches
Flowers:		Nodding flowers yellow-orange
Fruits / pods:		Schizzocarp; mericarps arranged in a single whorl; seeds c. 2 mm long, papillose.
Flowering Period:		May, June, July, August, September
Habitat:		Cultivated areas
Distribution:		Mediterranean Woodlands and shrublands, semi-steppe shrublands
Chorotype:		Tropical
Summer shedding:		Ephemeral

Derivation of the botanical name:

Abutilon from the Arabic name for a plant ’abū-ṭīlūn (أبو طيلون).

theophrasti, commemorates the ancient Greek botanist-philosopher Theophrastus (c.371 – c.287 BCE)
avicennae after Avicenna (Abu Ali Al-Husayn Ibn ‘Abd Allah Ibn Sina) (980-1037), a Persian scientist and philosopher.
The Hebrew name אבוטילון, abutilon transliteration from the scientific name, from Arabic.
The Arabic name’abū-ṭīlūn (أبو طيلون), the name given by Avicenna to this or a similar genus.

The standard author abbreviation Medicus. is used to indicate Friedrich Kasimir Medikus (1736 – 1808), a German physician and botanist.
The standard author abbreviation Gaertn. is used to indicate Joseph Gaertner (1732 – 1791), a German botanist.

An invasive, noxious weed. Used in Ayurveda.