{{Short description|Species of shrub}} {{Redirect|Pink-ball|uses in sport|Pink ball cricket|and|Pink ball (snooker)}} {{Speciesbox |image = Dombeya wallichii2.jpg |image_caption = Inflorescence |genus = Dombeya |species = wallichii |authority = (Lindl.) Benth. ex Baill. (1885) |synonyms = *''Assonia wallichii'' {{small|(Lindl.) Kuntze (1891)}} *''Astrapaea penduliflora'' {{small|DC. (1828)}} *''Astrapaea speciosa'' {{small|F.Dietr. (1825)}} *''Astrapaea wallichii'' {{small|Lindl. (1821)}} *''Dombeya penduliflora'' {{small|(DC.) M.Gómez (1890)}} *''Dombeya speciosa'' {{small|A.Dietr. ex Salomon (1880), nom. superfl.}} |synonyms_ref = <ref name = powo>[https://powo.science.kew.org/taxon/urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:823281-1 ''Dombeya wallichii'' (Lindl.) Benth. ex Baill.] ''Plants of the World Online'', Kew Science. Accessed 26 June 2023.</ref> }}
'''''Dombeya wallichii''''' is a flowering shrub of the family Malvaceae known by the common names '''pinkball''', '''pink ball tree''', and '''tropical hydrangea'''.<ref name=carter>Carter, K. [http://ucanr.org/sites/UrbanHort/files/80193.pdf Tropical Hydrangea: ''Dombeya wallichi''.] Center for Landscape and Urban Horticulture. University of California Cooperative Extension, Central Coast & South Region.</ref>
==Description== The plant can grow 20<ref name=fl>Gilman, E. F. and D. G. Watson. [http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/st232 ''Dombeya wallichii'': Pinkball.] Document ENH391. Environmental Horticulture, Florida Cooperative Extension Service, Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences, University of Florida. Published 1993. Revised 2006.</ref> to 30<ref name=carter/> feet tall and has a spread of up to {{convert|25|ft|m}}. The alternately arranged leaves are heart-shaped with serrated edges. The hanging flower clusters are pink, showy,<ref name=fl/> and fragrant.<ref name=carter/>
==Range and habitat== It is native to eastern Madagascar.<ref name = powo/> Its natural distribution isn't well understood, but wild specimens were collected from two coastal streamside locations on the eastern coast of Madagascar – at Antalaha on the northeastern coast, and at Mandena on the southeastern coast.<ref name = skema>Skema, C. (2014). Reevaluation of Species Delimitations in Dombeya Section Hilsenbergia (Dombeyaceae). Systematic Botany, 39(2), 541–562. http://www.jstor.org/stable/24546163</ref>
It has been introduced by humans to Cuba, the Dominican Republic, Marianas, Mauritius, southwestern Mexico, Réunion, Thailand, and the Windward Islands, where it has naturalized.<ref name = powo/>
==Cultivation== ''Dombeya wallichii'' is grown widely as a garden plant.
This species can be crossed with ''Dombeya burgessiae'' to produce the hybrid ''Dombeya'' × ''cayeuxii''.<ref name=carter/>
==References== {{Commons category}} {{Reflist}}
{{Taxonbar|from=Q615818}}
wallichii Category:Endemic flora of Madagascar Category:Flora of the Madagascar lowland forests Category:Plants described in 1821 Category:Taxa named by John Lindley Category:Taxa named by Henri Ernest Baillon
{{Malvaceae-stub}}