Cochlospermum Kunth ex DC., nom. cons.

Trees or shrubs or rarely somewhat herbaceous with more or less subterranean swollen stems, often deciduous, producing gums and orange-coloured sap. Leaves spreading, palmately lobed or digitate, pubescent or glabrous, deciduous. Flowers in terminal or subterminal racemes, corymbs or panicles or these in the upper leaf axils, appearing before the leaves. Sepals 5, free, broadly ovate, obtuse, persistent or caducous. Petals 5, free, imbricate or contorted, usually emarginate, large, yellow, showy. Stamens many, equal or unequal; filaments free or shortly connate at base; anthers oblong to linear, basifixed, 2-loculed, dehiscing by confluent pore-like slits. Ovary 1-loculed above with 3 - 5 parietal laminate placentae or incompletely 3 - 5-loculed at basal half; style filiform; stigmas barely thicker than style, usually obscurely denticulate. Capsules 1-loculed, 3 - 5-valved, longitudinally dehiscing, each of the inner endocarp bearing along its centre the placentae. Seeds cochleate-reniform to somewhat horse- shoe shaped, woolly pubescent.

Mostly in tropical and subtropical America, some in Africa, and S.E. Asia; ca 11 species, one in India.

List of Lower Taxa