I only found one small community of these plants, growing along the Potomac Heritage Trail, upstream from Roosevelt Island, just downstream from the confluence with Spout Run. This is a very narrow strip of moist fertile bottomland sandwiched between the Potomac river and the pavement of George Washington Parkway. The area along this trail is unfortunately increasingly affected both by invasive vines such as Porcelain Berry (Ampelopsis brevipedunculata) and inept attempts by humans to combat their spread. Nonetheless, there are still incredible pockets of biodiversity.
Green-flowered abutilonMalvaceae (Mallow family)Endemic to the Hawaiian Islands (Waianae Mountains, Oahu only)IUCN: Critically EndangeredOahu (Cultivated) EtymologyThe generic name Abutilon is derived from the Arabic awbtln (ab ln), for malvaceous (mallow-like) plants.The specific epithet sandwicensis refers to the "Sandwich Islands," as the Hawaiian Islands were once called, and named by James Cook on one of his voyages in the 1770s. James Cook named the islands after John Montagu (The fourth Earl of Sandwich) for supporting Cook's voyages.Hawaiian Names:The Hawaiian names Koolua maomao and Koolua mao (mao, green) may a indicate a "green flowered abutilton," but there is no reason to believe that these are valid Hawaiian names for this species that some may use. The true Hawaiian name is still yet unknown.nativeplants.hawaii.edu/plant/view/Abutilon_sandwicense
