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{{SPlantbox
{{SPlantbox
|familia=Malvaceae
|genus=Ochroma
|genus=Ochroma
|taxo_author=(Cav. ex Lam.) Urb.
|common_name=Balsa
|habit=tree
|lifespan=perennial
|Temp Metric=°F
|Temp Metric=°F
|jumpin=If this plant info box on watering; zones; height; etc. is mostly empty you can click on the edit tab and fill in the blanks!
|jumpin=If this plant info box on watering; zones; height; etc. is mostly empty you can click on the edit tab and fill in the blanks!
|image=Upload.png
|image=Starr-090720-3129.jpg
|image_width=240
|image_width=180
|image_caption=Ochroma pyramidale
}}
}}
'''''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|
{{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.
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.
<gallery perrow=5>
<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 1
Image:Upload.png| photo 2
Image:Upload.png| photo 2