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'''''Ochroma pyramidale''''', commonly known as '''Balsa''', is a species of [[flowering plant]] in the [[Malva|mallow]] family, [[Malvaceae]]. It is a large, fast-growing [[tree]] that can grow up to {{convert|30|m|ft|abbr=on|lk=on|sigfig=1}} tall. Balsa trees are native from southern [[Brazil]] and [[Bolivia]] north to southern [[Mexico]] however [[Ecuador]] has been the primary source of commercial Balsa. In recent years some Balsa has been [[plantation]] grown.<ref>United States Department of Agriculture: "The Encyclopedia of Wood", page 1-19. Skyhorse Publishing, Inc., 2007</ref> It is [[evergreen]], or dry-season [[deciduous]] if the dry season is long, with large ({{convert|30|-|50|cm|in|abbr=on|disp=/}}) weakly [[Leaf shape|palmately]] lobed leaves. The name ''balsa'' derives from [[Spanish language|Spanish]] for a [[raft]]. Despite being very soft, balsa is classified as a [[hardwood]], and is the softest commercial hardwood. Balsa [[lumber]] is very soft and lightweight. {{Inc| Ochroma (named for the paleness of the fls.). Bombacaceae. One tree of Trop. Amer., allied to Ceiba: Lvs. simple, angled or lobed: fls. large, terminal, p. Lagopus, Swartz, is listed abroad but hardly a horticultural subject: it is the corkwood or balsa of the W. Indies, from which canoes and other things are made, the wood being very light, the bark yielding fiber: tree to 40 ft. high: Lvs. 5-7-lobed or only angular, nearly entire or dentate, puberulous beneath: petals 5-6 in. long, yellowish white or brownish, somewhat surpassing the column of stamens, obovate and wavy, clawed; calyx 5-lobed, subtended by a caducous involucre of 3 parts; stamens comprising a column which is topped by 1-celled anthers; stigma 5, exserted, spiral: caps. 1 in. long, 5-celled, with reddish brown wool inside. }} ==Cultivation== ===Propagation=== ===Pests and diseases=== ==Varieties== ==Gallery== <gallery perrow=5> Image:Ochroma pyramidalis MS 3425.jpg|Balsa on [[Bota Hill]], [[Limbe Botanical Garden]], [[Cameroon]] Image:Ochroma pyramidale1FrancesWHorne.jpg|Painting by [[Frances W. Horne]] from the [[Flora Borinqueña]] Image:Upload.png| photo 1 Image:Upload.png| photo 2 Image:Upload.png| photo 3 </gallery> ==References== <references/> *[[Standard Cyclopedia of Horticulture]], by L. H. Bailey, MacMillan Co., 1963 <!--- xxxxx *Flora: The Gardener's Bible, by Sean Hogan. Global Book Publishing, 2003. ISBN 0881925381 --> <!--- xxxxx *American Horticultural Society: A-Z Encyclopedia of Garden Plants, by Christopher Brickell, Judith D. Zuk. 1996. ISBN 0789419432 --> <!--- xxxxx *Sunset National Garden Book. Sunset Books, Inc., 1997. ISBN 0376038608 --> ==External links== *{{wplink}} {{stub}} __NOTOC__
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