24-588: See text Salmalia Schott & Endl. Bombax is a genus of mainly tropical trees in the mallow family . They are native to western Africa , the Indian subcontinent , Southeast Asia , and the subtropical regions of East Asia and northern Australia . It is distinguished from the genus Ceiba , which has whiter flowers. Common names for the genus include silk cotton tree , simal , red cotton tree , kapok , and simply bombax . Currently four species are recognised, although many plants have been placed in
48-491: A husk containing seeds covered by a fibre similar to that of the kapok ( Ceiba pentandra ) and to cotton , though with shorter fibres than cotton, that does not lend itself to spinning, making it unusable as a textile product. Plants of the World Online currently (March 2024) includes: Malvaceae See List of Malvaceae genera Malvaceae ( / m æ l ˈ v eɪ s i ˌ aɪ , - s iː ˌ iː / ), or
72-1461: A monophyletic group. Adopting this circumscription, the Malvaceae incorporate a much larger number of genera. This article is based on the second circumscription, as presented by the Angiosperm Phylogeny Website . The Malvaceae s.l. (hereafter simply "Malvaceae") comprise nine subfamilies. A tentative cladogram of the family is shown below. The diamond denotes a poorly supported branching (<80%). Byttnerioideae : 26 genera, 650 species, pan-tropical, especially South America Grewioideae : 25 genera, 770 species, " pantropical " Sterculioideae : 12 genera, 430 species, pan-tropical Tilioideae : three genera, 50 species, northern temperate regions and Central America Dombeyoideae : about 20 genera, about 380 species, palaeo-tropical, especially Madagascar and Mascarenes Brownlowioideae : eight genera, about 70 species, especially palaeo-tropical Helicteroideae : eight to 12 genera, 10 to 90 species, tropical, especially Southeast Asia Malvoideae : 78 genera, 1,670 species, temperate to tropical Bombacoideae : 12 genera, 120 species, tropical, especially Africa and America Until recently, relationships between these subfamilies were either poorly supported or almost completely obscure. Continuing disagreements focused primarily on
96-594: A morphological basis for the separation." On the other hand, they say: "One approach is to lump them [the families in the core Malvales , including Bombacaceae] all into a 'super' Malvaceae, recognizing them as subfamilies. The other, taken here, is to recognize each of these ten groups as families." As circumscribed in its traditional sense, the family Bombacaceae includes around 30 genera (25 genera after Heywood et al. ) with about 250 species of tropical trees, some of considerable girth, so called "bottle trees". Many species grow to become large trees, with Ceiba pentandra
120-489: A vein ends at the tip of each tooth (malvoid teeth). Stipules are present. The stems contain mucous canals and often also mucous cavities. Hairs are common, and are most typically stellate . Stems of Bombacoideae are often covered in thick prickles. The flowers are commonly borne in definite or indefinite axillary inflorescences , which are often reduced to a single flower, but may also be cauliflorous , oppositifolious, or terminal. They often bear supernumerary bracts in
144-484: Is not a monophyletic group. Bombacaceae is no longer recognized by the Angiosperm Phylogeny Group I 1998, II 2003 and Kubitzki system 2003 at the rank of family, the bulk of the taxa in question being treated as subfamilies Bombacoideae and Helicteroideae within family Malvaceae sensu lato . A close relationship between Bombacaceae and Malvaceae has long been recognized but until recently
168-413: Is superior, with axial placentation, with capitate or lobed stigma. The flowers have nectaries made of many tightly packed glandular hairs , usually positioned on the sepals. The fruits are most often loculicidal capsules , schizocarps or nuts . Self-pollination is often avoided by means of protandry . Most species are entomophilous (pollinated by insects). Bees from the tribe Emphorini of
192-448: Is the fruit of the durian . A number of species, including Hibiscus syriacus , Hibiscus rosa-sinensis and Alcea rosea are garden plants. Bombacaceae Bombacaceae were long recognised as a family of flowering plants or Angiospermae. The family name was based on the type genus Bombax . As is true for many botanical names, circumscription and status of the taxon has varied with taxonomic point of view, and currently
216-564: The Apidae (including Ptilothrix , Diadasia , and Melitoma ) are known to specialize on the plants. A number of species are pests in agriculture , including Abutilon theophrasti and Modiola caroliniana , and others that are garden escapees. Cotton (four species of Gossypium ), kenaf ( Hibiscus cannabinus ), cacao ( Theobroma cacao ), kola nut ( Cola spp. ), and okra ( Abelmoschus esculentus ) are important agricultural crops. The fruit and leaves of baobabs are edible, as
240-587: The flag of Equatorial Guinea . The tree fibers are 100% cellulose, able to float, impervious to water, and have a low thermal conductivity. Called Kapok in Asia , the fibers are mainly used for insulation in sleeping bags and life preservers. The fibers are also used as stuffing for pillows and mattresses. Bombax species are among the largest trees in their regions, reaching 30 to 40 metres in height and up to three metres in trunk diameter. The leaves are compound with entire margins and are deciduous , being shed in
264-608: The mallows , is a family of flowering plants estimated to contain 244 genera with 4225 known species. Well-known members of economic importance include okra , cotton , cacao , roselle and durian . There are also some genera containing familiar ornamentals, such as Alcea (hollyhock), Malva (mallow), and Tilia (lime or linden tree). The genera with the largest numbers of species include Hibiscus (434 species), Pavonia (291 species), Sida (275 species), Ayenia (216 species), Dombeya (197 species), and Sterculia (181 species). The circumscription of
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#1732775923542288-442: The "core Malvales" families used to be defined on the basis of shared "malvean affinities". These included the presence of malvoid teeth, stems with mucilage canals, and stratified wedge-shaped phloem. These affinities were problematic because they were not always shared within the core families. Later studies revealed more unambiguous synapomorphies within Malvaceae s.l.. Synapomorphies identified within Malvaceae s.l. include
312-538: The Malvaceae is controversial. The traditional Malvaceae sensu stricto comprise a very homogeneous and cladistically monophyletic group. Another major circumscription, Malvaceae sensu lato , has been more recently defined on the basis that genetics studies have shown the commonly recognised families Bombacaceae , Tiliaceae , and Sterculiaceae , which have always been considered closely allied to Malvaceae s.s. , are not monophyletic groups. The Malvaceae can be expanded to include all of these families so as to compose
336-429: The correct circumscription of these subfamilies, including the preservation of the family Bombacaceae. A study published in 2021 presented a fully resolved phylogenetic framework for Malvaceae s.l. using genomic data for all nine subfamilies. Regarding the traditional Malvaceae s.s. , the subfamily Malvoideae approximately corresponds to that group. 245 genera are currently accepted. The relationships between
360-401: The dry-season. They measure 30 to 50 cm across and are palmate in shape with five to nine leaflets . The calyx is deciduous, meaning it does not persist on the fruits. They bear five to ten cm long red flowers between January and March while the tree is still leafless. The stamens are present in bundles in two whorls, while the staminal column lacks lobes. The ovary matures into
384-443: The families have been kept separate in most classification systems, and continue to be separated in many references, including the reference work in classification of flowering plants : Heywood et al. 2007 and Takhtajan 2009, but have been lumped together in Angiosperm Phylogeny Website . Heywood et al. say "although closely related to Malvaceae, molecular data supports their separation. Only pollen and habit seem to provide
408-426: The flowers, with the main axis developing first. Bracts on the peduncle subtend axillary buds that become these lateral stalks. One bract within this whorl is a sterile bract. The bicolor unit is a variable structure in complexity, but the presence of fertile and sterile bracts is a salient characteristic. The English common name 'mallow' (also applied to other members of Malvaceae) comes from Latin malva (also
432-456: The genus that were later moved. The genus is best known for the species Bombax ceiba , which is widely cultivated throughout tropical and sub-tropical regions of the world. It is native to southern and eastern Asia and northern Australia . Bombax species are used as food plants by the larvae of some Lepidoptera species including the leaf-miner Bucculatrix crateracma which feeds exclusively on Bombax ceiba . The tree appears on
456-425: The inner surface of the sepals, but flowers of the subfamily Tiliodeae also have present nectaries on the petals. Malvean flowers also share a unifying structure known as a bicolor unit, named for its initial discovery in the flowers of Theobroma bicolor . The bicolor unit consists of an ordered inflorescence with determinate cymose structures. The inflorescence can branch off the main axis, creating separate orders of
480-663: The preference is to transfer most of the erstwhile family Bombacaceae to the subfamily Bombacoideae within the family Malvaceae in the order Malvales . The rest of the family were transferred to other taxa, notably the new family Durionaceae . Irrespective of current taxonomic status, many of the species originally included in the Bombacaceae are of considerable ecological, historical, horticultural, and economic importance, such as balsa , kapok , baobab and durian . Recent phylogenetic research has shown that Bombacaceae as traditionally circumscribed (including tribe Durioneae)
504-562: The presence of tile cells, trichomatous nectaries, and an inflorescence structure called a bicolor unit. Tile cells consist of vertically positioned cells interspersed between and dimensionally similar to procumbent ray cells. Evidence of Malvean wood fossils has confirmed their evolutionary link in Malvaceae s.l. , as well as explained their diverse structures. Flowers of Malvaceae s.l . exhibit nectaries consisting of densely arranged multicellular hairs resembling trichomes. In most of Malvaceae s.l. , these trichomatous nectaries are located on
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#1732775923542528-664: The source for the English word " mauve "). Malva itself was ultimately derived from the word for the plant in ancient Mediterranean languages. Cognates of the word include Ancient Greek μαλάχη ( malákhē ) or μολόχη ( molókhē ), Modern Greek μολόχα ( molókha ), modern Arabic : ملوخية ( mulukhiyah ) and modern Hebrew : מלוחיה ( molokhia ). Most species are herbaceous plants or shrubs , but some are trees or lianas . Leaves are generally alternate , often palmately lobed or compound and palmately veined. The margin may be entire, but when dentate ,
552-466: The structure of a bicolor unit. They can be unisexual or bisexual, and are generally actinomorphic , often associated with conspicuous bracts, forming an epicalyx . They generally have five valvate sepals , most frequently basally connate , with five imbricate petals . The stamens are five to numerous, and connate at least at their bases, but often forming a tube around the pistils . The pistils are composed of two to many connate carpels . The ovary
576-399: The tallest, reaching a height to 70 m. Several of the genera are commercially important, producing timber, edible fruit or useful fibres. The family is noted for some of the softest hardwoods commercially traded, especially balsa , Ochroma lagopus . The fruit of the durian , Durio zibethinus is famous, tasting better than it smells. At one time kapok fibre from the tree Ceiba pentandra
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