Bombax 1043875 215084697 2008-05-26T17:09:01Z VASANTH S.N. 7154392 {{Taxobox | name = Silk-cotton tree | image = bombax-flower-leaf.jpg | image_width = 240px | image_caption = Bombax flower | regnum = [[Plant]]ae | divisio = [[Flowering plant|Magnoliophyta]] | classis = [[Magnoliopsida]] | ordo = [[Malvales]] | familia = [[Malvaceae]] | subfamilia = [[Bombacoideae]] | genus = '''''Bombax''''' | subdivision_ranks = Species | subdivision = ''[[Bombax buonopozense]]''<br/> ''[[Bombax ceiba]]''<br/> ''[[Bombax insigne]]''<ref name=GRIN>{{cite web| title=Bombax| work = Germplasm Resources Information Network - (GRIN)| url = http://www.ars-grin.gov/cgi-bin/npgs/html/splist.pl?1565| accessdate = 2007-06-26 }}</ref> <br/> }} [[Image:Semal (Bombax ceiba)- fallen flower at ground in Kolkata W IMG 4121.jpg|thumb|fallen flower at ground in [[Kolkata]], [[West Bengal]], [[India]]. ]] '''''Bombax''''' is a genus of primarily tropical trees in the [[Malvaceae|mallow family]]. They are native to tropical areas in western [[Africa]], the [[Indian subcontinent]], [[Southeast Asia]], as well as sub-tropical regions of [[East Asia]] and northern [[Australia]]. Common names for the genus include '''Silk Cotton Tree''', '''Simal''', '''Red Cotton Tree''', '''Kapok''' and simply '''Bombax'''. In Chinese they are known as '''Mumian''' ({{zh-cp|c=木棉|p=mùmián}}), meaning "tree cotton". Currently three species are recognised, though many plants have been placed in the genus that were later moved.<ref name=GRIN/> The genus is most well known though the species ''[[Bombax ceiba|B. ceiba]]'', which is widely cultivated throughout tropical and sub-tropcial regions of the world. Furthermore, it is native to both southern and eastern [[Asia]] as well as northern [[Australia]]. Specimens of trees within the gens are present at many botanical gardens worldwide, such as [[Lal Bagh]] in [[Bangalore]]. ''Bombax'' species are used as food plants by the [[larva]]e of some [[Lepidoptera]] species including the leaf-miner ''[[Bucculatricidae|Bucculatrix crateracma]]'' which feeds exclusively on ''[[Bombax ceiba]]''. ==Description== [[Image:Semal (Bombax ceiba) leaves (back side) in Kolkata W IMG 4135.jpg|thumb|left| leaves (back side) in [[Kolkata]], [[West Bengal]], [[India]].]] ''Bombax'' species are among the largest [[tree]]s in their regions, reaching 30 to 40 metres in height and up to 3 metres trunk diameter. The [[leaf|leaves]] are compound with entire margins and [[deciduous]], being shed in the dry-season. They measure 30 to 50 cm across and are palmate in shape with 5 to 9 [[leaflet]]s. The [[sepal | calyx]] is deciduous, meaning it does not persist on the fruits. They bear 5 to 10 cm long red [[flower]]s between January and March while the tree is still leafless. The [[stamen]]s 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]], though with shorter [[fibre]]s than cotton, that does not lend itself to spinning, making it unusable as a textile product.<ref name=Systematics>{{citation| last = Beentje| first = Henk; Smith, Sara| title = Plant Systematics and Phytogeography for the Understanding of African Biodiversity| journal = Systematics and Geography of Plants| volume = 71| issue = 2| year = 2001| pages = 284-286| url = http://links.jstor.org/sici?sici=1374-7886%282001%2971%3A2%3C265%3AFAA%3E2.0.CO%3B2-O| accessdate = [[2007-06-25]]}}</ref> ==References== {{reflist}} ==Further reading== *{{Fr icon}} {{citation| last = Robyns| first = André| title = Essai de monographie du genre Bombax s.l. (Bombacaceae)| journal = Bulletin du Jardin botanique de l'État a Bruxelles| volume = 33| issue = 1| date = March 31, 1963| pages = 1-144|| doi = 10.2307/3667210}} ==External links== * [http://www.ars-grin.gov/cgi-bin/npgs/html/splist.pl?1565 Germplasm Resources Information Network: ''Bombax''] * [http://www.haryana-online.com/Flora/semul.htm Haryana Online: Semul] * [http://www.abasar.net/FlowerShimul.htm Abasar] (in [[Bengali language|Bengali]]) [[Category:Malvaceae]] [[Category:Bombacaceae]] [[Category:Trees of Africa]] {{tree-stub}} [[es:Bombax]] [[fr:Bombax]] [[lt:Bombakmedis]] [[pt:Bombax]] [[vi:Chi Gạo]] [[kn:ಬೂರಗದ ಮರ]]