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{{Taxobox
| color = lightgreen
| 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/>
}}
'''''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 [[China]] 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==
''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}}
| color = lightgreen
| 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/>
}}
'''''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 [[China]] 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==
''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}}
