Abutilon hybrids - Flowering Maple Malvaceae Kristin Yanker-Hansen, Danville. No, they aren't maples, but the leaves look a lot like a sugar maple. The ones usually grown are called Abutilon x hybridum and are also called Chinese Lantern as the flowers usually face downward. The flowers may be white, yellow, red or orange with often contrasting calyces. Often the flowers will have contrasting veins in the petals. The genus is widespread in Africa, Asia, Australia and both Americas. This time the name is Arabic for mallow.