Family:
Malvaceae Juss.

Ceiba Mill.

This genus is accepted, and its native range is Mexico to Tropical America, W. Central Tropical Africa.

[FTEA]

Bombacaceae, H. Beentje (East African Herbarium). Flora of Tropical East Africa. 1989

Morphology General Habit
Trees, often spiny
Morphology Leaves
Leaves digitately compound, with caducous stipules
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers
Flowers axillary or subterminal, solitary or fasciculate
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Calyx
Calyx cupular, truncate or 3-5-lobed
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Corolla
Petals 5, imbricate, connate at the base to the staminal tube
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Androecium Stamens
Stamens (10-)15, in 5 bundles, united near the base into a filament-tube; each phalange of 3 connate filaments bearing 2-3 straight or coiled anther-thecae, each bundle alternipetalous
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Gynoecium Pistil
Ovary 5-locular, each locule with many ovules; stigma club-shaped, pentagonal
Morphology Reproductive morphology Fruits
Capsule a woody or coriaceous 5-valved capsule
Morphology Reproductive morphology Seeds
Seeds many, surrounded by the wool of the endocarp; endosperm thin or absent; cotyledons much contorted.

[FSOM]

M. Thulin et al. Flora of Somalia, Vol. 1-4 [updated 2008] https://plants.jstor.org/collection/FLOS

Morphology Trunk
Trunks often spiny
Morphology Leaves
Leaves digitate
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers
Flowers solitary or clustered
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Calyx
Calyx cup-shaped, truncate or 3–5-lobed
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Corolla
Petals 5
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Androecium Stamens
Stamens (10–)15, in 5 bundles; filaments united below into a tube; anthers 1-thecous
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Gynoecium Ovary
Ovary 5-celled, with numerous ovules; style club-shaped at the tip
Morphology Reproductive morphology Fruits
Fruit a woody or leathery 5-valved capsule, with many seeds embedded in woolly hairs.
Distribution
Twenty species native to America.

[FZ]

Bombacaceae, H. Wild. Flora Zambesiaca 1:2. 1961

Morphology General Habit
Tall trees, often spiny.
Morphology Leaves
Leaves digitately 3–9 (or very rarely more)-foliolate.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers
Flowers moderately large, axillary or subterminal, solitary in the axils or often fasciculate.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Calyx
Calyx 5-lobed.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Corolla
Petals 5.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Androecium Stamens
Stamens (10) 15, united in 5 phalanges, each bearing 2–3 coiled anther-thecae and united below in a tube.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Gynoecium Pistil
Ovary 5-locular, loculi multiovulate; stigma club-shaped, pentagonal.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Fruits
Capsule a woody or coriaceous 5-valved capsule.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Seeds
Seeds many, embedded in a copious wool.

Native to:

Argentina Northeast, Argentina Northwest, Bahamas, Belize, Bolivia, Brazil North, Brazil Northeast, Brazil South, Brazil Southeast, Brazil West-Central, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, French Guiana, Guatemala, Guyana, Haiti, Honduras, Jamaica, Leeward Is., Mexico Central, Mexico Gulf, Mexico Northeast, Mexico Northwest, Mexico Southeast, Mexico Southwest, Netherlands Antilles, Nicaragua, Panamá, Paraguay, Peru, Puerto Rico, Southwest Caribbean, Suriname, Trinidad-Tobago, Venezuela, Venezuelan Antilles, Windward Is.

Introduced into:

Andaman Is., Angola, Assam, Bangladesh, Benin, Burkina, Burundi, Cabinda, Cambodia, Cameroon, Caroline Is., Central African Repu, Chad, Chagos Archipelago, China South-Central, China Southeast, Comoros, Congo, Cook Is., Eritrea, Ethiopia, Fiji, Gabon, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Gulf of Guinea Is., India, Ivory Coast, Laos, Lesser Sunda Is., Liberia, Malawi, Mali, Marianas, Marquesas, Marshall Is., Mozambique, Nauru, Nicobar Is., Niger, Nigeria, Niue, Samoa, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Society Is., Somalia, Sri Lanka, Sudan, Sulawesi, Tanzania, Thailand, Tonga, Tuamotu, Tubuai Is., Uganda, Vietnam, Yemen, Zambia, Zaïre

Ceiba Mill. appears in other Kew resources:

Date Reference Identified As Barcode Type Status
Watkiss, E. [195], Bolivia 62840.000
Williams, G.R. [398] Chorisia 16593.000

First published in Gard. Dict. Abr. ed. 4: s.p. (1754)

Accepted by

  • Govaerts, R. (1999). World Checklist of Seed Plants 3(1, 2a & 2b): 1-1532. MIM, Deurne.

Literature

Flora of West Tropical Africa

  • Gard. Dict. Abridg. ed. 4 (1754).

Flora Zambesiaca

  • Gard. Diet. Abridg. ed. 4, 1 (1754).

Flora of Somalia

  • Flora Somalia, Vol 2, (1999) Author: by M. Thulin [updated by M. Thulin 2008]

Flora of Tropical East Africa

  • Gard. Dict, Abridg. ed. 4, 1 (1754)

  • Art and Illustrations in Digifolia

    Digital Image © Board of Trustees, RBG Kew

  • Flora Zambesiaca

    Flora Zambesiaca
    http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0

  • Flora of Somalia

    Flora of Somalia
    http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0

  • Flora of Tropical East Africa

    Flora of Tropical East Africa
    http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0

  • Herbarium Catalogue Specimens

  • Kew Backbone Distributions

    The International Plant Names Index and World Checklist of Selected Plant Families 2022. Published on the Internet at http://www.ipni.org and http://apps.kew.org/wcsp/
    © Copyright 2017 World Checklist of Selected Plant Families. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0

  • Kew Names and Taxonomic Backbone

    The International Plant Names Index and World Checklist of Selected Plant Families 2022. Published on the Internet at http://www.ipni.org and http://apps.kew.org/wcsp/
    © Copyright 2017 International Plant Names Index and World Checklist of Selected Plant Families. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0