Child of the Great River

Another wet and windy day today - I went out round the garden earlier but having got out of the Blipping habit over the last 12 days I didn't even take my camera with me! So it was outside the house with the camera in between showers - the only Blip I could find is this solitary open flower of Abutilon megapotamicum - this is a scandent shrub with thin, arching branches which is said to need a warm wall - I have it on the wall of the house but I've never tried it in the open garden here.

It's a native of dry valleys in Brazil - some authorities say it's also from Uruguay and Argentina. The name 'megapotamicum' apparently means 'of the great river' which is slightly puzzling, but the southernmost province of Brazil, bordering on those two countries, is called Rio Grande do Sul, or the Great River of the South, so maybe that's the answer. It's one of only two plants in the garden from Brazil, as far as I know. The other is the huge-leaved Gunnera manicata.