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Bombax ceiba

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Most photos by Soumen Aditya, India.


It might be a bit skinny, but this bonsai from Swindon-bonsai.co.uk look great.

Author: Carl Linnaeus, 1753
Family:  MALVACEAE
Origin:  Assam, Bangladesh, Bismarck Archipelago, Borneo, Cambodia, China, East Himalaya, India, Java, Laos, Lesser Sunda Island, Malaya, Maluku, Myanmar, Nepal, New Guinea, Northern Territory; Australia, Pakistan, Philippines, Solomon Islands, Sri Lanka, Sulawesi + Sumatera; Indonesia, Taiwan, Thailand, Vietnam
Soil:  Anything
Water:  Medium-Maximum
Sun:  Medium-Maximum
Thickness:  50-100 Centimetres
Height:  20-30 Meters
Flower:  Red
Propagate:  Seeds/Cuttings
Names:  Cotton Tree. Silk Cotton Tree, Semul
Synonyms:  Bombax malabaricum, Augustin Pyramus de Candolle, 1824.
Salmalia
malabarica, Schott & Endl. 1832.
Gossampinus malabarica, Merr.1927.
Bombacopsis quinata, Dugand.
Bombax aculeatum,
L.
Bombax ceiba,
Burm.f.
Bombax heptaphyllum,
Cav.
Bombax thorelii,
Gagnep.
Bombax tussacii,
Urb.
Gossampinus rubra,
Buch.-Ham.
Gossampinus thorelii,
Bakh.
Pachira quinata,
W.S.Alverson.
Pochota quinata,
W.D.Stevens.

This member of the Malvaceae family was given this name by Carl Linnaeus in 1753. Some of the later names is being used frequently, like DC's
Bombax malabaricum and Schott & Endl'.s Salmalia malabarica. It is now found from Afghanistan to China, grown for it's cotton-like fruit-fill. It might originate from India. It will grow in a vide range of soil with some to lots of water and some to lots of sun. Fast growing, it can reach 30 meters with a one meter truck within 50 years, and I must confess; I can't really call it a caudiciform. The bright red flowers appears numerous in winter.

The genera name from Latin: bombyx; 'silk', referring to the fruits' inner. The specific epithet ceiba is clearly of American origin thus indicating the fact that Linnaeus was describing a New World taxon. Might just indicate it look like that genera?

And yes, it is a skinny. Even as seedling, it seems.