Abutilon x milleri

auct

Malvaceae Edible: Flowers

iNaturalist· cc-by-nc

Summary

An evergreen shrub growing to 3 m tall by 2 m wide at a moderate growth rate, hardy to UK zone 8. Year-round leaves with an extended blooming period from April to September. Hermaphroditic flowers. Suitable for light sandy, medium loamy, and heavy clay soils with mildly acid to mildly alkaline pH. Adapts to semi-shade or full sun and prefers moist soil.

Description

A shrub or small tree. It grows 5 m tall. There are prickles along the stem. The leaves are twice divided and there are 8-18 pairs of pinnae. There are up to 50 pairs of pinnules on each pinnae. The flowers are yellow. They are in large clusters at the ends of branches. The pods are flattened.

Edible Uses

The flowers can be eaten raw or cooked and have a delicious sweet flavour, making them excellent on their own or as part of a mixed salad. Because the flowers continuously produce nectar while open, plants grown indoors away from pollinating insects will yield progressively sweeter flowers the longer each bloom remains open.

Medicinal Uses

None known

Distribution

It is a temperate plant. It can grow in a range of soil types and a range of soil acidities. It is best in moist soil. It suits hardiness zone 8.

Where It Grows

Britain, Europe,

Propagation

Sow seed in spring in a greenhouse; germination should occur within a few weeks. Once seedlings are large enough to handle, prick out into individual pots and grow on for at least the first winter under glass before planting out in late spring or early summer after the last expected frosts. Note that as a hybrid, seedlings will not come true from seed. Cuttings of young shoots taken in June can be rooted in a frame, overwintered in the greenhouse, and planted out the following spring after frosts have passed. Cuttings of half-ripe wood taken in July or August in a frame can be treated the same way.