Consider-the-Lilies Web Gallery
Velvet-leaf
This plant appeared at the edge of our deck late one summer and had us mystified for several weeks.
We had let some volunteer gourd plants grow along the edge of our deck, where they seemed to be doing well despite the lack of attention this summer.
This plant, blending in with the gourd vines, continued to grow unattended, finally reaching its present height of about six feet.
Until it began to form these distinctive seed pods, there wasn't much that I could see in its appearance to warrant adding it to the Gallery; in fact there weren't much by way of attributes by which I could identify the plant.
I don't spend much time looking for wildflowers in my wife's iris bed, but I happened to be out on the deck when the Abutilon theophrasti flowers were out.
(She had urged me to get a picture; and now I am glad I did!) I kept missing the beauty of the plant, because the flowers bloom and decline by early afternoon, something like Chicory.
And seeing the beauty of the flowers caused me to focus on the rest of the plant. It is called Velvet-leaf simply because the surface of the leaves and stem are covered by very soft, fine hairs.
It is also called pie maker for the shape of the seed pods, which resemble the crimped edges of pies. It is originally from the Orient, but is naturalized in most of the United States. Considered a noxious weed by several states, it is the target of an eradication program in Nebraska and Iowa.
Abutilon theophrasti is a member of the Malvaceae family, which also includes other flowering plants such as cotton, okra, mallow, and hollyhock. In China, where it is a native plant, it is valued for its medicinal qualities, especially as a treatment for dysentery, as well as for its economic value because the stalk yields a strong fiber, called "China jute" that is used as a backing for oriental carpets.
But, although I am pleased to have finally seen its flowers, and appreciate the exotic beauty that Velvet-leaf displays growing up from my wife's iris bed, I don't think I'll be the one to introduce it to this part of the Shenandoah Valley, so it will soon be gone. (According to one authority, the seeds from the plant often are brought into an area inadvertently as part of a birdseed mix. We have birdfeeders next to the deck.)
But here it is recorded for us to enjoy after it is gone.
Go to the Main Directory to consider more lilies of the field.