BOMBACACEAE 325 



*2. C. BEASILIENSE 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, 

 scarlet or purple at the base inside, exceeding the bracts in length. Cap- 

 sule oblong-ovoid, 4 to 5 cm 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 

 larg^e. 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 

 very large, red; very large trees 1. Bombax 



Ultimate filaments few, each with 2 or 3 linear or sinuate anthers; flowers 

 of medium size, white or yellowish; small trees 2. Ceiba 



1. BOMBAX Linnaeus 



Large trees with digitate, deciduous leaves. Peduncles axillaiy 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 6-celled; style clavate; stigmas 6; 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. celba 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 fet or near the ends «f the branches. Petals more or less 

 stellate-pubescent on bath surfaces. Capsule about 15 cm long, the valves 

 silky within. Seeds numerous, obovate. (Fl. I^ilip. pi 2Z6.) 



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. 



