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Glite Dictionary
Bombax malabarica

Bombax malabarica

9.9
A tree from India whose silk-like fibers are used for stuffing pillows and mattresses
  • noun
  • Specialized
translation icon : Bombax malabarica
  • The silk-like fibers from the Bombax malabarica are often used for pillow stuffing.

Examples

  • Unlike kapok, the fibers of Bombax malabarica are coarser and less buoyant.

  • Farmers in India cultivate Bombax malabarica for both its wood and its cottony fruit.

  • The Bombax malabarica is often found in tropical climates.

  • Farmers in India commonly grow Bombax malabarica.

  • The silk-like fibers from the Bombax malabarica are often used for pillow stuffing.

  • Farmers in India cultivate Bombax malabarica for its fibers, which are used in various products.

  • Unlike kapok, the fibers of Bombax malabarica are coarser and less suitable for high-quality stuffing.

Surface Forms

Bombax malabarica singular
Bombax malabaricas plural

Morphology

Bombax + malabarica

This is a Linnaean binomial combining the genus name Bombax (a large tropical tree with fibrous wood) with the epithet malabarica (literally ‘of Malabar’); a learner who knows both parts can infer it is a Bombax species from the Malabar/East Indian region. However, the detailed sense in the dictionary entry (its use for stuffing and comparison to kapok) is specialized encyclopedic information not recoverable from the constituents alone, so the transparency is partial.

Etymology

Bombax malabarica may come from two simple images: Bombax from an old word for cotton, and malabarica pointing to the Malabar region of India where the tree grows. The tree makes silk-like, cottony fibers used for 'stuffing' pillows and mats, so the name helps you remember it is a silk-cotton tree used for 'stuffing'.