any of various plants with soft, velvety leaves, particularly Abutilon theophrasti (sometimes A. avicennae), commonly known as Indian mallow, an annual, hairy plant of the hibiscus, or mallow, family (Malvaceae). Native to southern Asia, A. theophrasti is cultivated in northern China for its fibre and is widely naturalized in warmer regions of North America, where it is often a weed. It grows 0.6–2.4 metres (2–8 feet) tall and has heart-shaped leaves and beaked seedpods.