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Shalmali / Mochras

Common Names


Common Names To be Updated Soon

About    Taxonomy


Click to access the GRIN database record about the specific taxonomical hierarchy (Family, Genus etc.).

CLASSIFICATION


TAXON 


Bombax ceiba L.

FAMILY 


Malvaceae Juss.

ALTERNATE FAMILY


nom. cons.

OTHER FAMILY:


Bombacaceae

TRIBE


Bombacoideae

GENUS 


Bombax L.

SPECIES


ceiba L. Sp. pl. 1:511. 1753, nom. cons.


Plant Description


Tall trees, trunk usually unbranched up to considerable height. Bark grey, covered with hard small conical prickles. usually disappearing with age. Petiole 10-30 cm long, pulvinate at the base; stipules triangular, 5-10 mm x 4 mm with hairy margin, caducous. Leaflets 5-7, glabrous, entire, elliptic-lanceolate, acuminate, attenuate at base, more or less leathery, unequal, 5-20 cm x 2-8 cm; petiolule 1-3 cm long. Inflorescence many fascicles of 1-4 flowers borne, at or near the end of branches. Flowers large, showy, red (occasionally yellow or white); pedicel thick, 2-2.5 cm long. Calyx 3-lobed (rarely 2-lobed), cup-shaped, 3.5-4 cm long, smooth outside, densely silky within. Petals twisted in bud, stellate tomentose outside, sparcely pubescent inside, elliptic-oblong, usually recurved, 8-11 cm x 4-5 cm. Stamens c. 75, united at base in 6 phalanges, each of 11-15 stamens, the inner-most phalange surrounding the pistil is composed of 15 stamens of which 5-innermost are the largest and forked; filaments 3.5-6 cm long, pink, somewhat tomentose, flattened at base; anthers long, afterward twisted, violet. Ovary conical, green, covered with silky hairs, 0.5-1.2 cm long; style simple, 5.9-6.5 cm long; stigmas 5, filiform. 5-6 mm long. Capsule 10-12.5 cm long; oblong, woody, 5 valved, profusely to finely tomentose. Seeds brown, smooth, obovid, 6 mm long, embeded in silky white wool.

Flowering Period: December-March.

 

*Description source:  Efloras.org

STUDIES & RESEARCH