Bombax ceiba
Bombax ceiba | |
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Blooming Bombax Ceiba tree in Hong Kong | |
Scientific classification | |
Kingdom: | Plantae |
Clade: | Tracheophytes |
Clade: | Angiosperms |
Clade: | Eudicots |
Clade: | Rosids |
Order: | Malvales |
Family: | Malvaceae |
Genus: | Bombax |
Species: | B. ceiba
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Binomial name | |
Bombax ceiba | |
Synonyms[2] | |
Bombax ceiba, like other trees of the genus Bombax, is commonly known as cotton tree. More specifically, it is sometimes known as Malabar silk-cotton tree; red silk-cotton; red cotton tree; or ambiguously as silk-cotton or kapok,[3] both of which may also refer to Ceiba pentandra.
This Asian tropical tree has a straight tall trunk and its leaves are deciduous in winter. Red flowers with 5 petals appear in the spring before the new foliage.[4] It produces a capsule which, when ripe, contains white fibres like cotton. Its trunk bears spikes to deter attacks by animals. Although its stout trunk suggests that it is useful for timber, its wood is too soft to be very useful.
Description
Bombax ceiba grows to an average of 20 meters, with old trees up to 60 meters in wet tropical regions. The trunk and limb bear numerous conical spines particularly when young, but get eroded when older. The leaves are palmate with about 6 leaflets radiating from a central point (tip of petiole), an average of 7–10 centimetres (2+5⁄6–4 in) wide, 13–15 centimetres (5+1⁄6–5+5⁄6 in) in length. The leaf's long flexible petiole is up to 20 centimetres (8 in) long.
Cup-shaped flowers solitary or clustered, axillary or sub-terminal, fascicles at or near the ends of the branches, when the tree is bare of leaves, an average of 7–11 centimetres (2+5⁄6–4+1⁄3 in) wide, 14 centimetres (5+1⁄2 in) in width, petals up to 12 centimetres (4+2⁄3 in) in length, calyx is cup-shaped usually 3 lobed, an average of 3–5 centimetres (1+1⁄6–2 in) in diameter. Staminal tube is short, more than 60 in 5 bundles. The
The fruit, which reaches an average of 13 centimetres (5 in) in length, is light-green in color in immature fruits, brown in mature fruits.
Gallery
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Flower bud
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Mid-shot of flowers
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Single (fallen) flower
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Blooms
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Young Bark
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Mature bark
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Seeds
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Phyllotaxy
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Fallen flowers in Hong Kong
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Up close of flower on the branch
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Opened cotton pods.
Cultivation
The tree is widely planted in southeastern Asian countries and regions (such as in
This tree is commonly known as Let-pan (
This tree is also found in the eastern parts of Pakistan, especially in the eastern city of Lahore. The local Urdu and Punjabi names for the tree is sumbal, semal, sainbhal.
The 1889 book 'The Useful Native Plants of Australia records that the tree was at that time known as Bombax malabaricum, and its common names included 'Simool Tree;or 'Malabar Silk-cotton Tree of India' and that the calyx of the flower-bud is eaten as a vegetable in India."[5]
Uses
The white fluffy fibres are carded into thread and woven into textiles in Nepal and India. In North India, the fibers are also used in pillows. In Thailand, the dry cores of the Bombax ceiba flower (Thai: งิ้ว)[6] are an essential ingredient of the nam ngiao spicy noodle soup of the cuisine of Shan State and Northern Thailand,[7] as well as the kaeng khae curry.[8]
Role in Cantonese culture
Bombax ceiba | |||||||||
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Traditional Chinese | 木棉花 | ||||||||
Literal meaning | cotton-tree flowers | ||||||||
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Bombax ceiba is literally known as "cotton-tree flowers" in
The flower was also used as the trademark of the Guangzhou-based China Southern Airlines.[9]
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The tailfin of a China Southern Airlines Boeing 787 featuring a Bombax ceiba flower
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The logo of the Guangzhou-Yiqi bus company is also inspired by Bombax ceiba
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Up-close view of a typical, undisturbed bark in Hong Kong.
References
- ^ Barstow, M. (2020). "Bombax ceiba". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2020: e.T61781914A61781917. Retrieved 23 January 2023.
- ^ "TPL, treatment of Bombax ceiba L." The Plant List; Version 1. (published on the internet). Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew and Missouri Botanical Garden. 2010. Retrieved 23 August 2013.
- ^ Brown, Stephen H. (2011). "Red Silk-Cotton; Red Cotton Tree; Kapok" (PDF). Gardening Publications A-Z. University of Florida.
- ^ "Shimul". Banglapedia. Retrieved 2017-08-13.
- ^ J. H. Maiden (1889). The useful native plants of Australia : Including Tasmania. Turner and Henderson, Sydney.
- ^ "Thai Plant Names". Archived from the original on 2014-12-27. Retrieved 2012-11-26.
- ^ Cooking Northern Thai Food – Khanom Jeen Nam Ngeow Archived 2013-03-25 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ LittleBigThaiKitchen (12 March 2012). "Kaeng Khae Kai (Katurai Chilli Soup with Chicken)". Archived from the original on 2021-12-22 – via YouTube.
- ^ "标记的意义 Archived 2012-07-10 at archive.today" 南航官网. 于2010年1月14日查阅.