Velvet-leaf

Velvet-leaf
Velvet-leaf. Abutilon theophrasti.
Malvaceae, the mallow family.

Description:
Plant: Tall, coarse, branching, velvety-hairy plant 1'-6', with large, heart-shaped leaves, yellow flowers, and distinctive circular fruit composed of beaked segments. Annual.
Flowers: Yellow, about 1" across, with 5 petals, five sepals, and many stamens that form a tube characteristic of the mallow family. Flowers solitary in leaf axils, or in small clusters at the ends of branches.
Leaves: Alternate, large, 4"-6", heart-shaped, shallowly toothed, with long stalks (petioles), and covered with velvety hairs.
Fruit: A distinctive, circular structure of about 15 hairy, beaked, segments (carpels).
Blooming: July-October
Habitat: Disturbed ground, waste areas, fields.

Comments: Introduced from Asia (India), this plant has become a troublesome weed of cultivated fields, especially corn, in some areas. The common name refers to the soft-hairy leaves and stems. The plant is also known as Pie-maker, in reference to the oddly-shaped fruits, which supposedly recall the way pie-crust is pinched. A strong fiber can be obtained from the stems of the plant, and the seeds are supposedly edible.

Where to find it: Growing on the piles of loose soil near the Islamic center (2009), and occasionally in other locations.