Martha's exotic Backyard in Israel
Bombax ceiba, Bombax malabaricum, Gossampinus malabarica, Salmalia malabarica,
Red Silk Cotton Tree, Kapok Tree,
Hebrew: בומבק הודי ,בומבק צייבה, Arabic: خيزران

Scientific name:		Bombax ceiba L.
Synonym name:		Bombax malabaricum DC. Gossampinus malabarica (DC.) Merr. Salmalia malabarica (DC.) Schott & Endl.
Common name:		Red Silk Cotton Tree, Kapok Tree
Hebrew name:		בומבק הודי ,בומבק צייבה
Arabic name:		خيزران
Family:		Malvaceae, Subfamily: Bombacoideae, בומבקסים

Life form:		Deciduous large tree up to 20-25 m tall and spreads 8-15 m wide.
Stems:		Woody, solid, erect, columnar trunk, grey, glabrous bark with hard conical black prickles, delicate branches cylindrical, glabrous, smooth with distinct nodes and internodes.
Leaves:		palmate with about 6 leaflets radiating from a central point, an average of 7~10 centimeters wide, 13~15 centimeters in length. The leaf's long flexible petiole is up to 20 cm long.
Inflorescence:		Solitary or cluster of several extra-axillary flowers. At the time of flowering, the tree becomes almost leafless.
Flowers:		Cup-shaped flowers solitary or clustered, axillary or sub-terminal, fascicles at or near the ends of the branches, when the tree is bare of leaves, an average of 7~11 centimeters wide, 14 centimeters in width, petels up to 12 centimeters in length, calyx is cup-shaped usually 3 lobed, an average of 3~5 centimeters in diameter. Staminal tube is short, more than 60 in 5 bundles. stigma is light red, up to nine centimeters in length, ovary is pink, 1.5~2 centimeters in length, with the skin of the ovary covered in white silky hair at 1mm long.
Fruits / pods:		Brown oval capsule, which, when ripe, contains white fibres like cotton
Flowering Period:		February, March
Habitat:		Prefers dry or moist soil
Distribution:		Park
Chorotype:		South Asian

Derivation of the botanical name: Bombax from the Greek bombyx, referring to things of silk or cotton, and alludes to the abundant, silk-like or cottony fibers in the fruits. ceiba, a Spanish derivative of a Taino or other Arawakan (South American indigenous languages) name used for a group of large, tropical trees related to Bombax, many of which produce kapok or silk-cotton in their fruits. malabaricum, from the Malabar coast of India. Gossampinus, a variant of gossympinus, a Latin name used by Plinius for the cotton tree. Salmalia, origin: Salmali, a Sanskrit name for Salmalia Malabarica. The standard author abbreviation L. is used to indicate Carl Linnaeus (1707 – 1778), a Swedish botanist, physician, and zoologist, the father of modern taxonomy. The standard author abbreviation DC. is used to indicate Augustin Pyramus de Candolle (1778 – 1841),a Swiss botanist. The standard author abbreviation Merr. is used to indicate Elmer Drew Merrill (1876 – 1956), an American botanist. The standard author abbreviation Schott is used to indicate RHeinrich Wilhelm Schott (1794 - 1865), an Austrian botanist. The standard author abbreviation Endl. is used to indicate Stephan Friedrich Ladislaus Endlicher (1804 – 1849), an Austrian botanist. Pollinated by Birds, Bees.