Horticulturist (Me) needs strange plant identifcation

A Horticulturist by trade and Bonsai enthusiast since 1975, I have never seen this plant before and hope someone can identify it.

• Leaves, simple, 3 lobed

• Stem, tomentose (hairy),

• Branching, alternate

Hello Gary - have you looked into Rubus?  Rubus odoratus and Rubus parviflorus both have simple alternate leaves on pubescent stems.  They generally have five-lobed leaves instead of three-lobed, but I do see a couple of the leaves on your plant which are five-lobed or nearly so.  Of course this would be much easier if you had flowers.  

David B.

Raspberry.

Thanks guys but I have Rubus odoratus and Rubus parviflorus growing in the back of my yard. The leaves are not as hairy on this plant.

The Arbor day foundation sent me a bunch of seedling in the Spring and this was one of them. I'll have to give them a call when I get a chance. It's supposed to be a tree of some sort.

Its a rare day when the identity of a tree stumps Gary. And it stumps me too. I'm thinking something like a member of the Virginia creeper / Boston ivy family, but not either one of those species.

There is a Viburnum with maple like leaves, Viburnum acerifolium, but it has an opposite leaf pattern, not alternating. So it ''ain't no viburnum'.

I sent the photos to the Arbor Day Foundation, the source of the plant and they don't even know what it is! Still searching.

I think it is a type of Hibiscus, but don,t know which one, there are hundreds of Hibiscus species.

Love and Light
Andre

Also called Mallows....

By golly you may have hit the jackpot Andre!

They are not cold hardy where I live but I did put them in my Winter Bonsai House so it should survive.

I'll do some checking.

We used to grow Hibiscus in the Chicago area when I lived there.

Thanks Andre B.

It is not a Hibiscus.

Why don't you post a message on the UBC?

There's a section "Plants: Identification" and I'm sure you'll get the answer there:

http://forums.botanicalgarden.ubc.ca/forums/plants-identification.38/

Another Mallow.... Abutilon?

How did you misclassify it as Hibiscus? Would be interesting to know.

Love and Light
Andre