Abutilon /əˈbjuːtɨlɒn/ is a large genus of flowering plants in the mallow family, Malvaceae. It is distributed throughout the tropics and subtropics of the Americas, Africa, Asia, and Australia. General common names include Indian mallow and velvetleaf.The genus name is an 18th-century New Latin word that came from the Arabic ’abū-ṭīlūn (أبو طيلون), the name given by Avicenna to this or a similar genus.