| • Science | • People | • Locations | • Timeline |
| Bombacaceae
| ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Scientific classification | ||||||||||
| ||||||||||
|
Adansonia – Baobab Bombax – Silk-cotton tree Ceiba – Kapok Durio – Durian Ochroma – Balsa |
The Bombacaceae is a family of tropical treeThis article is about the biological organisms known as trees. For other meanings of the word see tree (disambiguation). oak tree in Denmark A tree can be defined as a large perennial woody plant. Though there is no set definition of size, it is generallys in the order Malvales, closely related to the mallowMallow is a plant species in the genus Malva or in one of several related genera of the Malvaceae, including Lavatera ( tree mallow/ rose mallow), Althaea ( marsh mallow), Sidalcea ( Greek mallow), Callirhoe ( poppy mallow), and Abelmoschus ( okra). Sever family ( Malvaceae), and often included in it, being distinguishable from that family only by the smooth pollen, and larger mature tree stature. The family includes 30 genera with about 250 species of often very large trees (Ceiba pentandra can reach a height of 70m).
Several of the genera are commercially important, producing timber (e.g., Balsa Ochroma lagopus), edible fruit (e.g., Durian Durio spp.) and useful fibres (e.g., Kapok Ceiba pentandra). The Baobabs or "Bottle trees" (Adansonia spp.) are important icon trees in tropical Africa, Australia and Madagascar, noted for their immensely stout trunk development, a water storage mechanism.