''Bombax'' is a genus of mainly tropical trees in the
mallow family. They are native to western
Africa
Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...
, the
Indian subcontinent
The Indian subcontinent is a list of the physiographic regions of the world, physiographical region in United Nations geoscheme for Asia#Southern Asia, Southern Asia. It is situated on the Indian Plate, projecting southwards into the Indian O ...
,
Southeast Asia
Southeast Asia, also spelled South East Asia and South-East Asia, and also known as Southeastern Asia, South-eastern Asia or SEA, is the geographical south-eastern region of Asia, consisting of the regions that are situated south of mainlan ...
, and the subtropical regions of
East Asia
East Asia is the eastern region of Asia, which is defined in both Geography, geographical and culture, ethno-cultural terms. The modern State (polity), states of East Asia include China, Japan, Mongolia, North Korea, South Korea, and Taiwan. ...
and northern
Australia. It is distinguished from the genus ''
Ceiba
''Ceiba'' is a genus of trees in the family Malvaceae, native to tropical and subtropical areas of the Americas (from Mexico and the Caribbean to N Argentina) and tropical West Africa. Some species can grow to tall or more, with a straight, la ...
'', which has whiter flowers.
Common names for the genus include silk cotton tree, simal, red cotton tree, kapok, and simply bombax. Currently four species are recognised, although many plants have been placed in the genus that were later moved.
[
The genus is best known for the species '']Bombax ceiba
''Bombax ceiba'', like other trees of the genus ''Bombax'', is commonly known as cotton tree. More specifically, it is sometimes known as Malabar silk-cotton tree; red silk-cotton; red cotton tree; or ambiguously as silk-cotton or kapok, both of ...
'', which is widely cultivated throughout tropical and sub-tropical regions of the world. It is native to southern and eastern Asia
Asia (, ) is one of the world's most notable geographical regions, which is either considered a continent in its own right or a subcontinent of Eurasia, which shares the continental landmass of Afro-Eurasia with Africa. Asia covers an are ...
and northern Australia.
''Bombax'' species are used as food plants by the larva
A larva (; plural larvae ) is a distinct juvenile form many animals undergo before metamorphosis into adults. Animals with indirect development such as insects, amphibians, or cnidarians typically have a larval phase of their life cycle.
...
e of some Lepidoptera species including the leaf-miner '' Bucculatrix crateracma'' which feeds exclusively on ''Bombax ceiba
''Bombax ceiba'', like other trees of the genus ''Bombax'', is commonly known as cotton tree. More specifically, it is sometimes known as Malabar silk-cotton tree; red silk-cotton; red cotton tree; or ambiguously as silk-cotton or kapok, both of ...
''.
The tree appears on the flag of Equatorial Guinea.
Description
''Bombax'' species are among the largest tree
In botany, a tree is a perennial plant with an elongated stem, or trunk, usually supporting branches and leaves. In some usages, the definition of a tree may be narrower, including only woody plants with secondary growth, plants that are ...
s in their regions, reaching 30 to 40 metres in height and up to three metres in trunk diameter. The leaves are compound with entire margins and are deciduous
In the fields of horticulture and Botany, the term ''deciduous'' () means "falling off at maturity" and "tending to fall off", in reference to trees and shrubs that seasonally shed leaves, usually in the autumn; to the shedding of petals, ...
, being shed in the dry-season. They measure 30 to 50 cm across and are palmate in shape with five to nine leaflets. The calyx is deciduous, meaning it does not persist on the fruits. They bear five to ten cm long red flower
A flower, sometimes known as a bloom or blossom, is the reproductive structure found in flowering plants (plants of the division Angiospermae). The biological function of a flower is to facilitate reproduction, usually by providing a mechani ...
s between January and March while the tree is still leafless. The stamens are present in bundles in two whorls, while the staminal column lacks lobes. The ovary matures into a husk containing seeds covered by a fibre similar to that of the kapok (''Ceiba pentandra'') and to cotton
Cotton is a soft, fluffy staple fiber that grows in a boll, or protective case, around the seeds of the cotton plants of the genus '' Gossypium'' in the mallow family Malvaceae. The fiber is almost pure cellulose, and can contain minor pe ...
, though with shorter fibres than cotton, that does not lend itself to spinning, making it unusable as a textile product.
Species
'' Plants of the World Online'' currently includes:[Plants of the World Online (POWO): ''Bombax'' L. (retrieved 10 April 2020)]
/ref>
*'' Bombax albidum'' Gagnep.
*'' Bombax anceps'' Pierre (syn. ''B. kerrii'' & ''B. valetonii'')
*'' Bombax blancoanum'' A.Robyns
*'' Bombax buonopozense'' P. Beauv.
*''Bombax cambodiense
''Bombax'' is a genus of mainly tropical trees in the Malvaceae, mallow family. They are native to western Africa, the Indian subcontinent, Southeast Asia, and the subtropical regions of East Asia and northern Australia. It is distinguished fro ...
'' Pierre
*''Bombax ceiba
''Bombax ceiba'', like other trees of the genus ''Bombax'', is commonly known as cotton tree. More specifically, it is sometimes known as Malabar silk-cotton tree; red silk-cotton; red cotton tree; or ambiguously as silk-cotton or kapok, both of ...
'' L. (syn. ''B. thorelii'' Gagnep.)
*'' Bombax costatum'' Pellegr. & Vuill.
*''Bombax insigne
''Bombax'' is a genus of mainly tropical trees in the mallow family. They are native to western Africa, the Indian subcontinent, Southeast Asia, and the subtropical regions of East Asia and northern Australia. It is distinguished from the genu ...
'' Wall. (syn. ''B. scopulorum'')
Formerly included species
*''Ceiba aesculifolia
''Ceiba'' is a genus of trees in the family Malvaceae, native to tropical and subtropical areas of the Americas (from Mexico and the Caribbean to N Argentina) and tropical West Africa. Some species can grow to tall or more, with a straight, ...
'' (Kunth) Britten & Baker (as ''B. aesculifolium'' Kunth)
*''Ceiba pentandra
''Ceiba pentandra'' is a tropical tree of the order Malvales and the family Malvaceae (previously emplaced in the family Bombacaceae), native to Mexico, Central America and the Caribbean, northern South America, and (as the variety ''C. pentandr ...
'' (L.) Gaertn. (as ''B. pentandrum'' L.)
*'' Cochlospermum orinocense'' (Kunth) Steud. (as ''B. orinocense'' Kunth)
*''Cochlospermum religiosum
''Cochlospermum religiosum'' is a flowering plant from the tropical region of Southeast Asia and the Indian Subcontinent. It is a small tree growing to a height of usually found in dry deciduous forests.
The name ''religiosum'' derives from the ...
'' (L.) Alston (as ''B. gossypium'' L.)
*''Cochlospermum vitifolium
''Cochlospermum vitifolium'' is a tree in the family Bixaceae. It is native to the Americas: from Mexico to Brazil
Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South ...
'' (Willd.) Spreng. (as ''B. vitifolium'' Willd.)
*'' Ochroma pyramidale'' (Cav. ex Lam.) Urb. (as ''B. pyramidale'' Cav. ex Lam.)
*''Pachira aquatica
''Pachira aquatica'' is a tropical wetland tree in the mallow family Malvaceae, native to Central and South America where it grows in swamps. It is known by its common names Malabar chestnut, French peanut, Guiana chestnut, Provision tree, Saba n ...
'' Aubl. (as ''P. macrocarpum'' (Schltdl. & Cham.) K.Schum.)
*'' Pachira emarginata'' A.Rich. (as ''B. emarginata'' (A.Rich.) C.Wright)
*'' Pachira insignis'' (Sw.) Savigny (as ''B. affine'' (Mart. & Zucc.) Ducke)
*''Pseudobombax ellipticum
''Pseudobombax ellipticum'', with common names including shaving brush tree, Dr Seuss tree, and ''amapolla tree'', is a species of plant in the subfamily Bombacoideae of the family Malvaceae.
Distribution
The tree is native to southern Mexico, ...
'' (Kunth) Dugand (as ''B. ellipticum'' Kunth)
*''Pseudobombax grandiflorum
''Pseudobombax'' is a genus of flowering plants in the subfamily Bombacoideae of the family Malvaceae.
The genus ranges across tropical South America, Central America, Mexico, Cuba, Hispaniola, and the Windward Islands."''Pseudobombax'' Dugand". ...
'' (Cav.) A.Robyns (as ''B. cyathophorum'' (Casar.) K.Schum.)
*''Pseudobombax septenatum
''Pseudobombax septenatum'' is of the family Malvaceae, commonly known as Algodón de río, beldaco, ceibo barrigón, majagua colorada or barrigon. It is a deciduous tree up to in height which grows in semideciduous rainforest with a definite dr ...
'' (Jacq.) Dugand (as ''B. heptaphyllum'' L.)[
*'' Rhodognaphalon mossambicense'' (A.Robyns) A.RobynsPlants of the World Online (POWO): ''Bombax mossambicense'' A.Robyns (retrieved 10 April 2020)]
/ref> (as '' Bombax mossambicense'' A.Robyns
References
Further reading
*
External links
{{Taxonbar, from=Q719028
Malvaceae genera
