120 XXT. MALVACE^. 



ledous luuch coutortuplicate covering a straight radicle. — Disteib. 

 Chiefly tropical American ; species about 10. 



Tnmk pviekly ; leaflets lanceolate ; filaments flattened 1. B. malaharicum. 



Trunk not prickly ; leaflets obovate ; filaments filiform ... 2. 1!. insignc. 



1. Bombax malabaricum, DC. Frodr. v. 1 (1824) p. 470. A 

 tail deciduous tree, with straight buttressed trunk and wide-spreading 

 branches ; bark grey, covered with hard sharp conical prickles. Leaves 

 large ; leaflets 3-7, entire, 3-7 in. long, glabrous, penninerved, reticu- 

 lately veined, lanceolate or oval, cuspidate, acute at the base : petioles 8 in. 

 long, glabrous ; petiolules -^-1 in. long ; stipules small, triangular, 

 caducous. Plowers numerous, near the ends of the branches, appearing 

 before the new leaves. Calyx thick, usually 3-lobed ; lobes rounded, 

 densely silky within, glabrous without, coming a\\ay from the receptacle 

 with the stamens and corolla. Corolla bright red, tomeutose on the 

 outside, sparingly pubescent within ; petals elliptic-oblong, recurved, 

 with close parallel veins. Stamens moi'e than 6(i, an^auged in 5 bundles 

 of about 9-12 each, and an inner bundle of 15 of which the 5 inner- 

 most are longest ; filaments flattened, slightly pubescent, rather more 

 than half as long as the petals, connate only at the base of the bundles. 

 Ovary conical, glabrous ; style a little longer than the stamens; stigmas 5, 

 linear, I in. long. Capsules 4-5 in. long, ovoid, downy, 5-valved, lined 

 within with white silky hairs. Heeds | in. long, numerous, ovoid, 

 packed in white cotton. Fl. B. I. v. 1, p. 349; Grab. Cat. p. 16; 

 AVoodr. in Journ. Bomb. Nat. v. 11 (1897) p. 128 ; AVatt, Diet. Econ. 

 Prod. V. 1, p. 487. Sidmalia malaharica, Schott. & Eudl. Meietera. 

 p. 35 ; Dalz. & Gibs. p. 22. — Elowers : Eeb.-Mar., when the tree is 

 bare of leaves. The Silk-cotton tree. A'^ern. Kdte-Sdvei'i ; Sdvar; 

 Sdur. 



The cotton obtained from the capsules, though not well adapted for 

 spinning, is an excellent material for filling beds, cushions and pillows, 

 for which purpose it is extensively used in India and, under the name 

 of tSimal, exported to Europe. A gum called 3Iocha-ras, employed in 

 native medicine, is also a product of the tree, while the inner bark affords 

 a fibre which can be used in the manufacture of cordage. — See A\'^att, 

 Diet. Econ. Prod. 1. c. 



Very common tlirougbout the Presidenoy. Konkak : hilly parts, Graham ; widely, 

 li'oodrow. Deccan: Poona, Coo/.cl S. M. Countuy: Laze I 



2. Bombax insigne, Wall. PL Asia. Rar. v. 1 (1830) p. 71, 

 tt. 79, 80. A tree, leafless in the hot season ; trunk unarmed ; branch- 

 lets sometimes prickly. Leaves glabrous ; petioles longer than the 

 leaflets; leaflets 7-9, glabrous, 5-G in. long, obovate, shortly acuminate, 

 attenuate at the base ; petiolules i-g in. long. Pedicels -^ in. long, 

 solitary, scattered on the leafless branches, stout, jointed at top. Calyx 

 l-l- in. long, urceolute-globose, truncate or slightly 2-lobed, finally deeply 

 2-cleft, sometimes prickly outside, den.sely silky-hairy within. Corolla 

 showy, scarlet or white ; ])etals 5 in. long, narrowed at the base, 

 stellately tomentose outside. Staminal-buiidles consisting of 50 or more 

 unerpial filiform filaments, about r, the length of the corolla. Ovary 

 ovoid, tomcnlose (red, Talhot) ; stigma 5-lobed. Capsules oblong, woody, 

 7-10 in. long, obtusely 5-angidar, glabrous. El. B. 1. v. l,p. 349; 



