FNPS Plant Database

Abutilon hulseanum

mauve
  • Photo by: Shirley Denton, Suncoast Chapter FNPS
  • Photo by: Shirley Denton, Suncoast Chapter FNPS
  • Photo by: Shirley Denton, Suncoast Chapter FNPS
  • Photo by: Shirley Denton, Suncoast Chapter FNPS
  • Photo by: Shirley Denton, Suncoast Chapter FNPS

Nomenclature

Common Name:

mauve

Synonym(s):

Sida huselana

Genus species:

Abutilon hulseanum

Family:

Malvaceae

Plant Specifics

Form:

Shrub

Size:

Up–about 7ft tall, rangy unless cut back periofically. , Somewhat shrubby but not really woody

Life Span:

Long-lived perennial

Flower Color:

orangy pink

Fruit Color:

brown

Phenology:

Blooms late winter, early spring

Noted For:

Landscaping

Recommended Uses:

Considerations:

Noted for being weedy.

Availability:

Propagation:

Easily grown from seed. Can be bought from several native nurseries. Will spread.

Light:

Moisture Tolerance:

Always Flooded---------------------------------Extremely Dry

□□□□□□□□□□□□□□□□□□□□□□□□■■■■■■■■■■■■□□□□□□

Not wet but not extremely dry -to- Somewhat long very dry periods

Salt Water Flooding Tolerance:

Unknown

Salt Spray/Salty Soil Tolerance:

Some tolerance to salty wind but not direct salt spray

Soil or Other Substrate:

Soil pH:

Slightly acidic to calcareous

Suitable to Grow In:

USDA zones are based on the average annual extreme minimum winter temperature.

Don't know your zone? Click here to search by zip code.

Vouchered In:

Distribution
Vouchered
Not vouchered
Selected
Click a county The county name will appear here.
No county distribution is available for this plant yet.
Starting…
Map coded by Melissa Fernandez-de Cespedes (Paynes Prairie Chapter)

Ecology

Wildlife:

Pollinators, Butterflies

Native Habitats:

Disturbed. Old orange groves, pasture, roadsides. May occur naturally along the west FL coast including shell mounds and dunes . All records for inland areas are from disturbed sites, predominantly old orange groves and pastures

Natural Range in Florida:

Comments:

Ethnobotany:

No known uses.

General Comments:

According to Kew Gardens, it is from Central America and probably Cuba and Florida. After going through the photos and labels for specimens in the SIEnet database, the only occurrences in Florida that were convincingly in natural systems (as opposed to highly disturbed areas) were on shell mounds, dunes, and similar coastal areas. Hence, the range map provided highlights the counties along the west coast that have these. Noted as invasive and weedy on many herbarium specimen labels. Where not native, we should think of it as invasive.
FNPS Plant Print

Citations:

Gann, G.D, C.J. Abbott, C.G. Stocking, K.N. Hines, and collaborators. (2001+). Mauve Mallow. Natives For Your Neighborhood. ( (https://www.regionalconservation.org/beta/nfyn/plantdetail.asp?tx=Abuthuls ). Accessed 2025. The Institute for Regional Conservation. Delray Beach, Florida.


KEW Royal Botanic Gardens. Plants of the World On Line. ( https://powo.science.kew.org/taxon/urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:60467477-2 ). Accessed 2025.)


Westerveldt, Anita. Anita's Blog - Cause and Effect. ( https://rgvctmn.org/blog/anitas-blog-cause-and-effect/ ). Accessed 2025. Rio Grande Chapter Master Naturalists.


Wunderlin, R. P, B. F. Hansen, A. R. Franck, and F. B. Essig. (1999+). Atlas of Florida Plants. ( https://florida.plantatlas.usf.edu/ ). [S. M. Landry and K. N. Campbell (application development), USF Water Institute.] Institute for Systematic Botany, University of South Florida, Tampa.

Request an update