{{Short description|Genus of flowering plants}} {{Redirect|Simal|the Azerbaijani village|Şimal}} {{Automatic taxobox |image = bombax-flower-leaf.jpg |image_caption = ''Bombax ceiba'' flower |taxon = Bombax |authority = L.<ref name=GRIN>{{cite web |url=http://www.ars-grin.gov/cgi-bin/npgs/html/genus.pl?1565 |title=Genus: ''Bombax'' L. |work=Germplasm Resources Information Network |publisher=United States Department of Agriculture |date=2007-10-05 |access-date=2013-04-27 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130615193720/http://www.ars-grin.gov/cgi-bin/npgs/html/genus.pl?1565 |archive-date=2013-06-15 |url-status=dead }}</ref> |subdivision_ranks = Species |subdivision = See text |synonyms=''Salmalia'' <small>Schott & Endl.</small><ref name=GRIN /> |synonyms_ref = <ref name = POWO/> }}
'''''Bombax''''' is a genus of mainly tropical trees in the mallow family, Malvaceae. They are native to western Africa, the Indian subcontinent, Southeast Asia, and the subtropical regions of East Asia and northern Australia. It is distinguished from the genus ''Ceiba'', which has whiter flowers.
Common names for the genus include '''silk cotton tree''', '''simal''', '''red cotton tree''', '''kapok''', and simply '''bombax'''. Eight species are recognised, although many plants have been placed in the genus that were later moved.
The genus is best known for the species ''Bombax ceiba'', which is widely cultivated throughout tropical and sub-tropical regions of the world. It is native to southern and eastern Asia and northern Australia.
''Bombax'' species are used as food plants by the larvae of some Lepidoptera species including the leaf-miner ''Bucculatrix crateracma'' which feeds exclusively on ''Bombax ceiba''.
The tree appears on the flag of Equatorial Guinea.
The tree fibers are 100% cellulose, able to float, impervious to water, and have a low thermal conductivity. Called Kapok in Asia, the fibers are mainly used for insulation in sleeping bags and life preservers. The fibers are also used as stuffing for pillows and mattresses.
==Description== [[Image:Semal (Bombax ceiba)- fallen flower at ground in Kolkata W IMG 4121.jpg|thumb|Fallen flower of ''Bombax ceiba'']]
''Bombax'' species are among the largest trees in their regions, reaching 30 to 40 metres in height and up to three metres in trunk diameter. The leaves are compound with entire margins and are deciduous, being shed in the dry-season. They measure 30 to 50 cm across and are palmate in shape with five to nine leaflets. The calyx is deciduous, meaning it does not persist on the fruits. They bear five to ten cm long red flowers between January and March while the tree is still leafless. The stamens are present in bundles in two whorls, while the staminal column lacks lobes. The ovary matures into a husk containing seeds covered by a fibre similar to that of the kapok (''Ceiba pentandra'') and to cotton, though with shorter fibres than cotton, that does not lend itself to spinning, making it unusable as a textile product.<ref name=Systematics>{{citation| last = Beentje| first = Henk; Smith, Sara| title = Plant Systematics and Phytogeography for the Understanding of African Biodiversity| journal = Systematics and Geography of Plants| volume = 71| issue = 2| year = 2001| pages = 284–286| jstor = 3668673| issn = 1374-7886| doi=10.2307/3668673}}</ref>{{Failed verification|date=March 2026|reason=The cited document gives no descriptions whatsoever}}
==Species== [[File:Bombax insigne113.JPG|thumb|''Bombax insigne'']] ''Plants of the World Online'' includes eight species {{As of|2026|03|lc=y}}:<ref name="POWO">{{cite web |url=https://powo.science.kew.org/taxon/urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:331412-2 |title=''Bombax'' L. |website=Plants of the World Online |publisher=Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew |year=2026 |access-date=6 March 2026}}</ref> * ''Bombax albidum'' <small>Gagnep.</small> * ''Bombax anceps'' <small>Pierre</small> * ''Bombax blancoanum'' <small>A.Robyns</small> * ''Bombax buonopozense'' <small>P. Beauv.</small> * ''Bombax cambodiense'' <small>Pierre</small> * ''Bombax ceiba'' <small>L.</small> * ''Bombax costatum'' <small>Pellegr. & Vuill.</small> * ''Bombax insigne'' <small>Wall.</small>
===Formerly included species=== This list may be incomplete. * ''B. aesculifolium'' – now ''Ceiba aesculifolia''{{R|aesculifolium}} * ''B. affine'' – now ''Pachira insignis''{{R|affine}} * ''B. aquaticum'' – now ''Pachira aquatica''{{R|aquaticum}} * ''B. cyathophorum'' – now ''Pseudobombax grandiflorum''{{R|cyathophorum}} * ''B. ellipticum'' – now ''Pseudobombax ellipticum''{{R|ellipticum}} * ''B. emarginatum'' – now ''Pachira emarginata''{{R|emarginatum}} * ''B. gossypium'' – now ''Cochlospermum religiosum''{{R|gossypium}} * ''B. heptaphyllum'' – now ''Pseudobombax septenatum''{{R|heptaphyllum}} * ''B. mossambicense'' – now ''Rhodognaphalon mossambicense''{{R|mossambicense}} * ''B. orinocense'' – now ''Cochlospermum orinocense''{{R|orinocense}} * ''B. pentandrum'' – now ''Ceiba pentandra''{{R|pentandrum}} * ''B. pyramidale'' – now ''Ochroma pyramidale''{{R|pyramidale}} * ''B. vitifolium'' – now ''Cochlospermum vitifolium''{{R|vitifolium}}
==References== {{Reflist|refs= <ref name="aesculifolium">{{cite web |url=https://powo.science.kew.org/taxon/urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:34567-2 |title=''Bombax aesculifolium'' Kunth |website=Plants of the World Online |publisher=Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew |year=2026 |access-date=6 March 2026}}</ref>
<ref name="pentandrum">{{cite web |url=https://powo.science.kew.org/taxon/urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:317689-2 |title=''Bombax pentandrum'' L. |website=Plants of the World Online |publisher=Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew |year=2026 |access-date=6 March 2026}}</ref>
<ref name="orinocense">{{cite web |url=https://powo.science.kew.org/taxon/urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:34626-2 |title=''Bombax orinocense'' Kunth |website=Plants of the World Online |publisher=Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew |year=2026 |access-date=6 March 2026}}</ref>
<ref name="gossypium">{{cite web |url=https://powo.science.kew.org/taxon/urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:559138-1 |title=''Bombax gossypium'' L. |website=Plants of the World Online |publisher=Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew |year=2026 |access-date=6 March 2026}}</ref>
<ref name="vitifolium">{{cite web |url=https://powo.science.kew.org/taxon/urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:559191-1 |title=''Bombax vitifolium'' Willd. |website=Plants of the World Online |publisher=Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew |year=2026 |access-date=6 March 2026}}</ref>
<ref name="pyramidale">{{cite web |url=https://powo.science.kew.org/taxon/urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:34634-2 |title=''Bombax pyramidale'' Cav. ex Lam. |website=Plants of the World Online |publisher=Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew |year=2026 |access-date=6 March 2026}}</ref>
<ref name="aquaticum">{{cite web |url=https://powo.science.kew.org/taxon/urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:34572-2 |title=''Bombax aquaticum'' (Aubl.) K.Schum. |website=Plants of the World Online |publisher=Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew |year=2026 |access-date=6 March 2026}}</ref>
<ref name="emarginatum">{{cite web |url=https://powo.science.kew.org/taxon/urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:1168409-2 |title=''Bombax emarginatum'' (A.Rich.) C.Wright |website=Plants of the World Online |publisher=Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew |year=2026 |access-date=6 March 2026}}</ref>
<ref name="affine">{{cite web |url=https://powo.science.kew.org/taxon/urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:34568-2 |title=''Bombax affine'' (Mart.) Ducke |website=Plants of the World Online |publisher=Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew |year=2026 |access-date=6 March 2026}}</ref>
<ref name="ellipticum">{{cite web |url=https://powo.science.kew.org/taxon/urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:34609-2 |title=''Bombax ellipticum'' Kunth |website=Plants of the World Online |publisher=Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew |year=2026 |access-date=6 March 2026}}</ref>
<ref name="cyathophorum">{{cite web |url=https://powo.science.kew.org/taxon/urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:34614-2 |title=''Bombax cyathophorum'' (Casar.) K.Schum. |website=Plants of the World Online |publisher=Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew |year=2026 |access-date=6 March 2026}}</ref>
<ref name="heptaphyllum">{{cite web |url=https://powo.science.kew.org/taxon/urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:559144-1 |title=''Bombax heptaphyllum'' L. |website=Plants of the World Online |publisher=Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew |year=2026 |access-date=6 March 2026}}</ref>
<ref name="mossambicense">{{cite web |url=https://powo.science.kew.org/taxon/urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:112275-1 |title=''Bombax mossambicense'' A.Robyns |website=Plants of the World Online |publisher=Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew |year=2026 |access-date=6 March 2026}}</ref> }}
==Further reading== * {{citation| last = Robyns| first = André| title = Essai de monographie du genre Bombax s.l. (Bombacaceae)| journal = Bulletin du Jardin botanique de l'État à Bruxelles| volume = 33| issue = 1| date = March 31, 1963| pages = 1–144| doi = 10.2307/3667210| publisher = Bulletin du Jardin botanique de l'État à Bruxelles, Vol. 33, No. 1| jstor = 3667210|language=fr}}
==External links== {{Commons category|Bombax}} {{Wikispecies}}
{{WestAfricanPlants|Bombax}} {{Taxonbar|from=Q719028}} {{Authority control}}
Category:Bombax Category:Malvaceae genera