Bombax
(from bombax, one of the Greek names for cotton; the pods are filled with a fine silky substance like cotton, but which it is impossible to spin into thread, in consequence of the edges being perfectly smooth). Silk Cotton Three. ORD. Malvaceae. A genus of large soft-wooded stove trees. Flowers scarlet or white, large, usually rising laterally from the trunk or branches, either singly or in clusters. They grow best in a rich loamy soil. Cuttings, not too ripe, taken off at a joint, placed in sand under a bell glass, in moist heat, will root readily; but plants raised from seeds brought from their natural habitats make finer trees.
B. Ceiba (Ceiba). fl. pale red, large. l. palmate, with five leaflets. fr. turbinate, concave at the apex. h. 100ft. South America, 1692.