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(Last Modified On 1/29/2013)
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(Last Modified On 1/29/2013)
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Family
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BOMBACACEAE
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Contributor
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ANDRE ROBYNS
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Description
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Trees, infrequently shrubs, mucilaginous, armed or unarmed, glabrous or lepi- dote, or with stellate, tufted, or even simple hairs. Leaves alternate, simple or compound-digitate, stipulate, the stipules fugacious. Inflorescences cymose or race- mose or flowers solitary, sometimes cauliflorous. Flowers often bracteolate, small or large, hermaphrodite, seldom imperfect, actinomorphous, rarely more or less zygo- morphous, usually 5-merous, with or without epicalyx; receptacle glandular or not; calyx valvate, lobate, or truncate, caducous, persistent or accrescent; petals none or 5, contorted, usually adnate to the base of the staminal column; stamens 5 to numerous, usually monadelphous, rarely free; anthers 1- to 2- to many-thecate, free or coherent, hippocrepiform to linear, sometimes anfractuose, usually longitudinally dehiscent, rarely porose; pollen porate, colpate or colporate, with reticulate sexine, provided or not with suprategillar elements or with tegillate and spinulate sexine; staminodes infrequently present; gynoecium wvith 2-5(-6) or 10(-15) syncarpous carpels; ovary superior, sometimes subinferior, 2- to 5(-6)- or 10(-15)-celled, with (1-)2-many ovules in each cell and with axile placentation; ovules anatropous; style simple; stigma capitate or divided. Fruit capsular, smooth or sometimes spinose or samaroid, usually opening by 3 or 5 valves, sometimes more or less long-lanate within, infre- quently pulpy and indehiscent; seeds glabrous, sometimes alate or arillate, often oleaginous; albumen generally none or scant; embryo usually curved, sometimes straight; cotyledons epigeal, plane or folded, foliaceous or carnose.
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Habit
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Trees shrubs
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Distribution
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A pantropical family of about 26 genera, particularly well developed in tropical America; nine genera are represented in Panama.
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Note
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The capsules of some genera (Bombax L., Ceiba, Ochroma) are filled with wooly fibers, commonly named kapok; Adansonia L., Bombacopsis, Durio Adans. and Pachira have edible seeds; and the genus Ochroma furnishes the well-known balsa wood.
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Key
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a. Leaves compound-digitate; capsule loculicidally dehiscent. b. Seeds not winged. c. Staminal column divided into many filaments, each bearing a single anther, these hippocrepiform to oblong-linear. d. Leaflets inarticulate; capsule densely long-lanate within ............. . ................... 1. PSEUDOBOMBAX dd. Leaflets articulate. e. Deciduous trees; capsule densely long-lanate within; seeds numerous, 0.4-1 cm. long and 0.35-0.95 cm. wide- 2. BOMBACOPSIS ee. Evergreen trees; capsule silky-villous within; seeds few, 2- 3.2 cm. x 2.2-6 cm. x 2-2.2 cm- - . 3. PACHIRA cc. Starninal column divided into 5 filaments, each bearing 2-3 anfrac- tuose anthers or 2 superposed, linear and slightly flexuose anthers .4. CEIBA bb. Seeds broadly winged; stamens 5, the staminal column long, the anthers almost sessile, elongated, spirally twisted, vermiform - 5. GYRANTHERA aa. Leaves simple. f. Capsule indehiscent. g. Staminal column separating into many pentadelphous filaments, each bearing a single anther; ovary superior; capsule with 5 membranous wings much enlarged laterally -.---------6. CAVANILLESIA gg. Staminal column undivided or shortly 5-dentate to 5-lobate, the anthers sessile to subsessile; ovary subinferior; capsule not winged ------------------------------------------ 7. QUARARIBEA ff. Capsule loculicidally dehiscent. h. Flowers small, up to 1.8 cm. long, either hermaphrodite or staminate; staminal column divided into many unequal filaments, each bearing a single anther; ovary and capsule 3-celled; capsule glabrous or nearly so within; seeds arillate . 8. HAMPEA hh. Flowers large, up to 11-15 cm. long, hermaphrodite; staminal column shallowly 5-lobate, antheriferous from about the middle to the apex, the anthers sessile; ovary and capsule 5-celled; capsule densely lanate within; seeds not arillate .... . . . 9. OCHROMA
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