BOMBACACEAE

the bombax or kapok family of flowering trees and shrubs, in the mallow order (Malvales), comprising 27 genera. It is allied to the mallow family (Malvaceae), to which the cotton plant belongs, and is characteristic of the tropics. Bombacaceae members' flowers are often large and showy. The family includes: Adansonia digitata, the African baobab (q.v.); the genus Bombax with 8 species, including the red silk-cotton tree (B. ceiba); the genus Pseudobombax with 20 species, including the shaving-brush tree (P. ellipticum); and Ceiba, with 10 species, the fruits of which produce the kapok (q.v.) of commerce. Ochroma lagopus is the South American balsa (q.v.), noted for its very light wood, and the Malayan Durio zibethinus bears the noted durian (q.v.) fruit, remarkable for its distinctive odour and large size.