Definition of "velvetleaf" [vel•vet•leaf]

• A tropical Asian annual herb (Abutilon theophrasti) naturalized in the United States, having large velvety heart-shaped leaves and yellow flowers. It is an important fiber plant in northern China. Also called China jute. (noun)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

• "Cahill and his team used a tiny camera inserted through a Plexiglas tube in the bottom of the garden pot to watch a common agricultural weed, called velvetleaf, spread its roots through the soil."
• "Your mystery plant is very pretty… the leaves look a bit like velvetleaf, which I think is in the abutilon/malva family."
• "Among species characteristic of this habitat are Russian thistle, cocklebur, witchgrass, inland Sea Rocket and velvetleaf."