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Coastal Indian mallow Abutilon permolle
Malvaceae
Copyright by: James Johnson, 2014 In habitat, Blazingstar Preserve, Palm Beach County, Florida Enlarge
General Landscape Uses:
Primarily recommended for natural landscapes and habitat restorations.
Ecological Restoration Notes: A fairly common element of rockland hammock edges in the Florida Keys, rarer elsewhere. It tolerates disturbed, even scraped, soils, but needs some organic material to thrive.
Availability:
Grown by enthusiasts.
Description: Medium shrub with velvety leaves and showy yellow flowers.
Dimensions: Typically 3-6 feet in height. Usually taller than broad.
Growth Rate: Moderate.
Range:
Monroe, Miami-Dade, Broward and Collier counties; disjunct in Manatee County, where presumed extirpated; West Indies, Mexico and Central America.
Habitats: Rockland hammock edges and canopy gaps and coastal rock barrens.
Soils: Moist, well-drained limestone soils, with humusy top layer.
Nutritional Requirements: Moderate; can grow in nutrient poor soils, but needs some organic content to thrive.
Salt Water Tolerance: Low; does not tolerate long-term flooding by salt or brackish water.
Salt Wind Tolerance: Moderate; grows near salt water, but is protected from direct salt spray by other vegetation.
Drought Tolerance: Moderate to high; plants growing in extremely dry soils may die during extended periods of drought.
Light Requirements: Full sun to light shade.
Flower Color: Yellow.
Flower Characteristics: Showy, about 1" wide.
Flowering Season: All year; peak winter to spring.
Fruit: Narrow carpels arranged in a cup shape, separating at maturity.
Wildlife and Ecology: Possible larval host plant for common checkered-skipper (Pyrgus communis), mallow scrub-hairstreak (Strymon istapa) and tropical checkered-skipper (Pyrgus oileus) butterflies.
Horticultural Notes: Can be grown from seed. Small seedlings are easily transplanted.
References: Hammer 2004.
Comments: The attractive silvery foliage and showy yellow flowers makes this a good choice in sunny, coastal, rockand areas.
Copyright by: James Johnson, 2014 In habitat, Blazingstar Preserve, Palm Beach County, Florida Enlarge
Map of select IRC data from peninsular Florida.
Map of ZIP codes with habitat recommendations from the Monroe County Keys north to Martin and Charlotte counties.
