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Bombax ceiba
Malvaceae FAMILY

Bombax ceiba

Bombax ceiba

Edibility
2/5
Medicinal
3/5

Safety & Hazards

None known

Cultivation Details

HabitDeciduous Tree
GrowthFast

A plant of the tropical, humid lowlands[1]. It grows best in areas where annual daytime temperatures are within the range 28 - 42°c, though it can tolerate 5 - 49°c[2]. It can resist occasional light frosts, with new growth being killed at -1°c, but dormant growth being tolerant down to -3°c[2, 3]. It prefers a mean annual rainfall of 750 - 4,000mm, tolerating 500 - 5,000mm and preferring a distinct dry season[2]. Grows best in a sunny position[4]. Prefers a deep, rich, well-drained soil, but tolerating a wide range of conditions[4, 5]. Established plants are drought tolerant[4], and can also withstand occasional inundation of the soil[5]. Prefers a pH in the range 5.5 - 6.5, tolerating 4.9 - 7.2[2]. A fast-growing plant, especially when young[5]. The plant can commence flowering when around 8 - 10 years old from seed[5]. The plant produces suckers, especially when young, though they often die after 2 - 3 years, especially as the tree grows older[5]. Young trees can be coppiced, but older trees will often fail to grow back after being cut down[5]. The tree has a thick bark which acts as an insulation and allows it to recover from fires[5, 3].

Propagation

Seed - sown fresh, without pre-treatment, they have a high germination rate[5]. Some reports suggest germination rates can be improved by pre-soaking the seeds for 12 hours prior to sowing[5], this is likely to refer to seeds that have dried somewhat[PFAF]. Seeds can be sown in a sunny position, either in situ or in nursery beds. Sprouting takes place in 10 - 25 days[5]. Transplant 5cm tall seedlings to individual containers and plant out 12 months later[5]. Cuttings of half-ripe wood. Cite as: Tropical Plants Database, Ken Fern. tropical.theferns.info. 2026-02-19. <tropical.theferns.info/viewtropical.php?id=Bombax+ceiba>

Pollinators

Birds, Bees

References

  1. [1]Trees Commonly Cultivated in SE Asia — Jensen. M. · FAO Regional Office, Bangkok. · 1999 · ISBN 974-89377-5-5 ↩︎
  2. [2]Ecocrop — http://ecocrop.fao.org/ecocrop/srv/en/home ↩︎Basic information on a wide range of useful plants, plus details of environmental needs where available.
  3. [3]Trees of Laos and Vietnam - A Field Guide to 100 species. — Hoang Van Sam; Khamseng Nanthavong; Kessler P.J.A. · Blumea · 2004 ↩︎A detailed guide, with excellent line-drawings, to 100 of the more important trees of Laos and Vietnam. A very good work, giving lots of information about each plant. Originally published in the journal Blumea, it is available as a PDF on the Interne
  4. [4]Tropical and Subtropical Trees - A Worldwide Encyclopaedic Guide. — Barwick. M. · Thames & Hudson, London · 2004 · ISBN 0-500-51181-0 ↩︎A superb book, very concise and well written, giving a wealth of information on 400 or more species including descriptions, habitat, cultivation details and plant uses. A wealth of colour photographs bring each plant vividly to life.
  5. [5]Digital Compendium of Forestry Species of Cambodia — www.digitalspecies.blogspot.com; Phnom Penh · 2008 · http://www.digitalspecies.blogspot.com ↩︎A very detailed booklet, produced in PDF format on the internet, giving information on around 100 species of trees.
  6. [6]Mansfeld's Database of Agricultural and Horticultural Plants — http://mansfeld.ipk-gatersleben.de/pls/htmldb_pgrc/f?p=185:3:4292127278597336 ↩︎Terse details of a huge range of useful plants.
  7. [7]Flora of China — Missouri Botanical Garden Press; St. Louis. · 1994 · http://flora.huh.harvard.edu/china/ ↩︎An excellent, comprehensive resource in 25 volumes. In addition to the botanical information the flora also gives basic information on habitat and some uses. An on-line version is also available.
  8. [8]Cornucopia II — Facciola. S. · Kampong Publications, California. · 1998 · ISBN 0-9628087-2-5 ↩︎The second edition of an excellent guide to the edible uses of plants, though it does not give any details of cultivation etc.
  9. [9]Plant Resources of Southeast Asia — http://proseanet.org/ ↩︎Lots of information on the uses of the plants of SE Asia.
  10. [10]Useful Fiber Plants of the World — Dodge C.R. · USDA; Washington. · 1897 · http://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/ ↩︎A rather dated, but very comprehensive catalogue of fibre plants from around the world. The book can be downloaded from the Internet.
  11. [11]CosIng — http://ec.europa.eu/growth/tools-databases/cosing/ ↩︎CosIng is the European Commission database for information on cosmetic substances and ingredients.
  12. [12]Dictionary of Economic Plants. — Uphof. J. C. Th. · Weinheim · 1959 · ISBN - ↩︎An excellent and very comprehensive guide but it only gives very short descriptions of the uses without any details of how to utilize the plants. Not for the casual reader.
  13. [13]Larvicidal activity of Dregea volubilis and Bombax malabaricum leaf extracts against the filarial vector Culex quinq — Emdad Hossain; Anjali Rawani; Goutam Chandra; Subhash C. Man · 2011 ↩︎
  14. [PFAF]Plants for a Future — pfaf.org ↩︎