Kuakuakohan
Abutilon indicum · Indian mallow
- Names in the book
- Kuakuakohan, Gilig̃-gilig̃an, Tag.; Tabig̃, Malis, Dulupag, Pilis, Vis.; Malvas de Castilla, Sp.-Fil.
- Used for
- Urinary
- Colours
- floweryellow, orange
- Native range
- Tropical Asia
- In the Philippines, per the book
- Common in Luzon, Panay, Mindanao and other islands. Blooms in September.
- Family
- Malvaceae, filed in the book under Malvaceæ
- Printed as
- Abutilon Indicum, Don. (Sida Indica, L.)
- Sources
- Page 43 on Project Gutenberg · Wikipedia
The plant today
Abutilon indicum (Indian abutilon, Indian mallow) is a small shrub in the family Malvaceae, native to tropical and subtropical regions. This plant is a valuable medicinal and ornamental plant, its roots and leaves being used for curing fevers. It has been widely introduced outside of its native range, and is considered invasive on certain tropical islands.
Excerpt from “Abutilon indicum” on Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0.
Recorded in the Philippines
GBIF holds 110 records of this plant from the Philippines. The ones with map coordinates fall in 14 provinces, most often Batangas (3), Metropolitan Manila (3), Bohol (2), Cebu (2), Occidental Mindoro (2), Palawan (2), Cagayan (1), Davao del Sur (1), and 6 more.
Counts from GBIF occurrence records, October 2026. They include planted trees and garden plants, and a province with no records may only lack collectors.
What the 1901 book says
A historical record, quoted as printed. Doses and remedies here are not medical advice.
Uses
The trunk bark is slightly bitter, and in decoction is used as a diuretic. An infusion of the leaves and flowers is used as an emollient in place of mallows. The infusion of the root is used for the same effect, as a lotion or injection. I have often had occasion to employ this plant and would never use the Philippine mallow in place of it.
Botanical description
A plant 3–4° high, all its parts covered with hairs, simple and tomentose. Leaves heart-shaped, angular, obtuse, unequally serrate, smooth, soft, the lower surface hoary and bearing 9 well-marked nerves. Petioles longer than the leaves, with 2 stipules at the base. Flowers yellow, axillary, solitary. Peduncles long, with a node near the end. Calyx, 5 sepals, as in all the Malvaceæ. Corolla, 5 petals with a small notch at the end. Stamens very numerous as well as the styles. Both arise from the summit of a very short column and twist in all directions forming a tassel or tuft. Fruit much higher than the calyx, of 10–20 cells or carpels which are broad, compressed, hairy, the walls united toward the center, each containing 2–3 seeds.
Recent research
The most cited papers since 2022 that name this plant in the title, pulled from Europe PMC in October 2026. Titles are the authors' own and the findings have not been reviewed here.
- Green synthesis of copper oxide nanoparticles using Abutilon indicum leaves extract and their evaluation of antibacterial, anticancer in human A549 lung and MDA-MB-231 breast cancer cells
- Toxicological profiling of methanolic seed extract of Abutilon indicum (L.) Sweet: in-vitro and in-vivo analysis
- Densitometric method for assessment of six specialized metabolites in four Sida sp. and its congener Abutilon indicum: Targeted metabolomics, greenness assessment, and chemometrics analysis