Bombacaceae - Baobab family

The following description refers to Adansonia only. Tree, with an extraordinary swollen trunk. Stipules present, deciduous. Leaves alternate, simple (in young trees) or digitate (in older trees). Flowers large and showy, pendulous, solitary in leaf axils, bisexual, actinomorphic. Pedicels with 2 bracteoles. Calyx deeply 5-lobed (in ours), often with an epicalyx. Petals 5, free. Stamens numerous, united into a tube below (in ours); anthers 1-thecous. Ovary superior, 5-10-locular (in ours). Fruit woody, indehiscent (in ours).

Comment: According to the most recent taxonomic research by the Angiosperm Phylogeny Group (APG-III), this family is now included in Malvaceae. As this new concept still appears to be highly controversial we will remain to treat it as a separate family until further information is available.

Worldwide: 26 genera and 250 species, tropical, especially America.

Mozambique: 3 genera and 3 taxa.