Abutilon austro-africanum leaf variability

Leaf variability in Abutilon austro-africanum is evident on this plant seen in the Mjejane Game Reserve next to the southern border of the Kruger National Park.

The leaf base has two conspicuous lobes rendering the leaf heart-shaped. The front part of the leaf tapers to an angular tip or curves in a rounded shape. White, spidery leaf veins spread from the leaf base across its pale, grey-green surface, below still paler than above.

The suggestion of soft velvet upon the leaf surfaces does not quite warrant a description of hairiness. A magnifying glass, however, often tends to change the mind about matters of plant detail.

Half-closed flowers in various developmental stages are exceeded in appearance by the flat-topped green fruits in picture, ringed by pointy calyx lobes. Lines radiate from the centre of the fruit, resembling a cake sliced for distribution to children at a birthday party. Those tiny sectors represent individual seeds, one-seeded mericarps growing in the fruit, more like a carousel-shaped nursery where babies sleep with their heads together (iSpot; JSTOR; www.kyffhauser.co.za).