bombax family

[ bom-baks ]

noun

1. the plant family Bombacaceae, typified by tropical deciduous trees having palmate leaves, large and often showy solitary or clustered flowers, and dry fruit with a woolly pulp, and including the baobab and silk-cotton tree.

Word History and Origins

Origin of bombax family¹

< New Latin (Linnaeus): the silk-cotton tree genus; Medieval Latin: silk, cotton, alteration of Latin bombȳx silkworm, silk < Greek bómbȳx silkworm; bombycid