The canary tree mallow is a tropical tree that produces a canary-yellow terminal at the tip of the branch and axillary (formed in the leaf axils) corymbose inflorescence (flat-topped clusters of flowers) in winter in the Chicago area. With a native range from Mexico south to Colombia and Venezuela, the flowers can vary from pale yellow through gold, sometimes with a red blotch near the center of the flowers.

Grow canary tree mallows like abutilons, in full sun and well-drained soil, and cut back the 12-foot-tall plants to a more manageable size during the dormant non-flowering season, from late winter to early spring.