BOMBACACEAE 325 
*2. C. BRASILIENSE Macfad. Bulac-castila (Tag.); Algodon (Sp.); Cotton. 
An erect branched shrub 1 to 3 m high, the stems purplish, glandular. 
Leaves 10 to 25 cm long, stellate-tomentose beneath when young, becoming 
glabrous or nearly so, 3- to 5-lobed, the lobes ovate to oblong, acuminate, 
base cordate. Flowers large, yellow. Bracteoles green, glabrous, ovate, 
cordate, deeply laciniate, 5 to 7 cm long. Corolla pale-yellow, campanulate, 
searlet or purple at the base inside, exceeding the bracts in length. Cap- 
sule oblong-ovoid, 4 to 5 em long, acuminate. Seeds conglomerate, with 
abundant wool but no fuzz. 
Occasionally cultivated for ornamental purposes in Manila, fl. most of 
the year; widely distributed in the Philippines, cultivated and as an escape. 
A native of Brazil, now cultivated and wild in many tropical countries. 
85. BOMBACACEAE (BOMBAX OR BoBOY FAMILY) 
Trees with alternate, stipulate, digitately compound, deciduous leaves. 
Inflorescence axillary or terminal. Flowers regular, perfect, medium or 
large. Calyx cup-shaped, truncate or irregularly 3- to 5-lobed. Petals 5, 
imbricate. Stamens pentadelphous, opposite the petals, divided above into 
few or numerous filaments. Ovary 5-celled, superior, free; stigmas 5, ° 
or 1 and obscurely 5-lobed; ovules many in each cell. Fruit a loculicidally 
5-valved capsule. Seeds with woolly or silky hairs. 
Genera about 20, species more than 100, widely distributed in the tropics, 
4 genera and 4 species known from the Philippines. 
Ultimate filaments very many, each with a single reniform anther; flowers 
wery large, reds wery large LECCS.<......-b- rnc. +. depen neeceqeemey +p 1. Bombax 
Ultimate filaments few, each with 2 or 3 linear or sinuate anthers; flowers 
of medium size, white or yellowish; small trees...........0..000....2.... 2. Ceiba 
1. BOMBAX Linnaeus 
Large trees with digitate, deciduous leaves. Peduncles axillary or sub- 
terminal, solitary or clustered, 1-flowered. Flowers large, red, appearing 
before the leaves. Calyx leathery, cup-shaped, truncate or irregularly 
lobed. Petals obovate. Stamens pentadelphous, the bundles opposite the 
petals, divided above into numerous filaments; anthers reniform, 1-celled. 
Ovary 5-celled; style clavate; stigmas 5; ovules many in each cell. Cap- 
sule loculicidally 5-valved, the valves leathery, woolly within. Seeds 
woolly. (From the Greek name for silkworm or silk.) 
Species about 50, chiefly in tropical America, one in the Philippines. 
1. B. ceiba L. (B. malabarica DC.). Buboy-gubat, Malabulac (Tag.). 
A large tree, 25 m high or more, the trunk with few or many, very 
large, pyramidal spines. Leaves deciduous; leaflets 5 to 7, oblong to oblong- 
lanceolate, acuminate, 10 to 20 cm long, glabrous, the petioles longer than 
the leaflets. Flowers large, red, 8 to 10 cm long, appearing before the 
leaves, fascicled at or near the ends of the branches. Petals more or less 
stellate-pubescent on both surfaces. Capsule about 15 em long, the valves 
silky within. Seeds numerous, obovate. (FI. Filip. pl. 226.) 
A single tree known to me in our area, and that in the old Botanical 
Garden, fl. Feb._March; rather widely distributed in the Philippines at 
low altitudes. India to Malaya. 
