Bombax family
Description
A small family of tropical trees, closely related to the Family Malvaceae, often with a stout trunk (Bombacaceae 1).
The leaves are palmately compound and are often shed at the end of the rainy season. The flowers are large, white or yellow, with numerous free stamens, 5 sepals and petals, usually partly united, and a superior ovary. The fruit is a big woody capsule, often spiny (Bombacaceae 2).
There are about 30 genera.
Use
The family yields the soft and pithy balsa wood; kapok; the baobab, which plays an important role in many African societies; and the durian, which is a famous fruit in the Far East.
Described species
Ceiba pentandra, kapok
Adansonia digitata, baobab
Durio zibethinus, durian