Flora of Panama. Part VI. Family 116. Bombacaceae

ROBYNS-T rees, infrequently shrubs, mucilaginous, armed or unarmed, glabrous or lepidote, or with stellate, tufted, or even simple hairs.Leaves alternate, simple or compound-digitate, stipulate, the stipules fugacious.Inflorescences cymose or racemose or flowers solitary, sometimes cauliflorous.Flowers often bracteolate, small or large, hermaphrodite, seldom imperfect, actinomorphous, rarely more or less zygomorphous, usually 5-merous, with or without epicalyx; receptacle glandular or not; calyx valvate, lobate or truncate, caducous, persistent or accrescent; petals none or 5, contorted, usually adnate to the base of the staminal column; stamens 5 to numerous, usually monadelphous, rarely free; anthers 1-to 2-to many-thecate, free or coherent, hippocrepiform to linear, sometimes anfractuose, usually longitudinally dehiscent, rarely porose; pollen porate, colpatc or colporate, with reticulate sexine, provided or not with suprategillar elements or with tegillate and spinulate sexine; staminodes infrequently present; gynoecium with 2-5(-r)) or 10(-15) syncarpous carpels; ovary superior, sometimes subinferior, 2-to 5(-6)-or 10(-15) -celled, with (l-)2-many ovules in each cell and with axilc placentation; ovules anatropous; style simple; stigma capitate or divided.Fruit capsular, smooth or sometimes spinose or samaroid, usually opening by 3 or 5 valves, sometimes more or less long-lanate within, infrequently pulpy and indehiscent; seeds glabrous, sometimes alate or arillate, often oleaginous; albumen generally none or scant; embryo usually curved, sometimes straight; cotyledons epigeal, plane or folded, foliaceous or carnose.A pantropical family of about 2G genera, particularly well developed in tropical America; nine genera are represented in Panama.The capsules of some genera {Bomhax L., Ceiba, Ochroma) are filled with w^ooly fibers, commonly named kapok; Adansonia L., Bonibacopsis, Durio Adans.and Pachira have edible seeds; and the genus Ochroma furnishes the well-known balsa wood.a. Leaves compound-digitate; capsule loculicidally dehiscent.b.Seeds not winged.c.Staminal column divided into many filaments, each bearing a single anther, these hippocrepiform to oblong-linear. 1. Tlie Flora of Panama by Robert E.