• Family : BOMBACACEAE
  (Bombax Or Kapok Family)
• Family (Hindi name) : SEMAL FAMILY (लटकन फैमिली)
• Family (as per The APG System III) : Malvaceae
• Synonym(s) : Bombax malabaricum DC.
• Species Name (as per The IPNI) : Bombax ceiba L.
• Common name : Silk Cotton Tree, Malabar Semul
• Vernacular name :
  • Nurma, Huttian, Semal, Simal (Hindi)
  • Kempu buruga (Kannada)
  • Mullulavu, Booruga chettu (Telugu)
  • Ilavu, Purani (Tamil)
  • Simalu, Simili, Simal (Oria)
  • Shalmali (Sanskrit)
  • Kate-saver (Marathi)
  • Elavu, Kandilavu, Mocha, Mullilavu, Panjimaram, Pichila, Poola, Poorani, Pulamaram, Unnamurikku (Malayalam)
  • Tera(Manipuri)
  • Dumboil (Assamese)
• Habit : Tree
• Habitat : Tropical Eastern Himalaya and throughout the hotter forest regions of India
• Comments / notes : Occasional in plains of deciduous forest up to 800m, sometimes reaching to 1400m; Tropical moist deciduous forests, Tropical semi-evergreen forests and also in the plains Timber is used for matches and coffins. Wood soft but but buoyant, used for dugout boatsand planking; the bark gives a fibre used for rope
• Key identification features : Large tree. Stem covered with stout, hard conical prickles. Flowers fleshy, red or white. Capsule ovoid, downy
• Flower, Fruit : February-May
• Distribution :
  • Andhra Pradesh : Throughout Andhra Pradesh
  • Kerala : All districts of Kerala
  • Maharashtra : All districts of Maharashtra
  • Tamil Nadu : All forests in Tamil Nadu
  • Madhya Pradesh : Hoshangabad district
  • Sikkim : Sikkim
  • Himachal Pradesh : Kinnaur district,Shimla district
  • Arunachal Pradesh : Arunachal Pradesh
  • Meghalaya : Meghalaya
  • Assam : Assam
  • Nagaland : Nagaland
  • Delhi : Delhi
  • Uttar Pradesh : Uttar Pradesh
  • Punjab : Punjab
  • Mizoram : Mizoram
  • Manipur : Manipur
  • Tripura : Tripura
• Native : Australia, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Bismarck Archipelago, Borneo, Cambodia, China, Hainan, India, Jawa, Laos, Lesser Sunda Islands, Malaya, Maluku, Myanmar, Nepal, New Guinea, Pakistan, Philippines, Solomon Islands, Sri Lanka, Sulawesi, Sumatera, Taiwan, Thail
• Exotic/Native : Native
• World Distribution : Australia, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Bismarck Archipelago, Borneo, Cambodia, China, Hainan, India, Jawa, Laos, Lesser Sunda Islands, Malaya, Maluku, Myanmar, Nepal, New Guinea, Pakistan, Philippines, Solomon Islands, Sri Lanka, Sulawesi, Sumatera, Taiwan, Thailand, Vietnam
• Conservation Status : Not Evaluated (NE)
• Literature :
  • Pullaiah et al., 2002 - Flora of Eastern Ghats Vol. 1
  • H.O. Saxena & M. Brahmam, 1994- Flora of Orissa Vol. 1
  • R. S. Rao et al., 1986 - Flora of West Godavari District
  • R. S. Rao and S. H. Sreeramulu, 1986 - Flora of Srikakulam District
  • C. E. C. Fischer, 1921 - A Survey of the Flora of Anaimalai Hills in the Coimbatore District, Madras Presidency
  • H. O. Saxena and M. Brahmam, 1989 - The Flora of Similipahar (Similipal), Orissa
  • Sudhakar Reddy, C et al., 2009. Tree Wealth of Eastern Ghats of Andhra Pradesh, India
  • Matthew, K.M., Flora of Tamil Nadu Carnatic, Vol.3 (1). Diocesan Press, Madras. 1983
  • Henry, Kumari & Chithra (1983). Flora of Tamil Nadu, India vol. 1
  • Sasidharan, N. 2011. Flowering plants of Kerala. DVD, V 2, KFRI.
  • Oleg P & Adam S (1984). Flowers of Himalaya. Oxford University Press: 63
  • Chowdhery, H. J. & Wadhwa, B. H (1984). Flora of Himachal Pradesh Vol. 2. Published BSI: 118
  • Nair, N. G (1977).Flora of Bashahr Himalayas. International Bioscience Publishers: 46
  • H J, Chowdhery, et al. Flora of Himachal Pradesh. Volume 1, Botanical Survey of India, 1984. Pg.: 118-119
• Read more :
  • Plants of the World Online
  • World Flora Online
  • Global Plants on JSTOR
• Citation : Sankara Rao, K., Deepak Kumar (2024). India Flora Online. http://indiafloraonline-ces.iisc.ac.in/plants.php?name=Bombax ceiba. Downloaded on 1 April 2025.

Botanical Description

Herbarium Specimen(s)

Line Drawings

Field Image(s)

India Distribution

World Distribution