Pachira glabra Pasq.

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Pachira glabra

Photo: Fiona Smith
About 40 km from Livingstone along the Lusaka Road

Pachira glabra

Photo: Fiona Smith
About 40 km from Livingstone along the Lusaka Road

Pachira glabra

Photo: Fiona Smith
About 40 km from Livingstone along the Lusaka Road

Pachira glabra

Photo: Fiona Smith
About 40 km from Livingstone along the Lusaka Road

Pachira glabra

Lusaka
Feb 2018
Photo: Mike Bingham

Pachira glabra

Lusaka
Feb 2018
Photo: Mike Bingham

Pachira glabra

Lusaka
Feb 2018
Photo: Mike Bingham

Pachira glabra

Lusaka
Feb 2018
Photo: Mike Bingham

Pachira glabra

Photo: Tongai Castigo
Municipal council, Vila Gorongosa

Pachira glabra

Photo: Tongai Castigo
Municipal council, Vila Gorongosa

Pachira glabra

Photo: Tongai Castigo
Municipal council, Vila Gorongosa

Pachira glabra

Photo: Tongai Castigo
Municipal council, Vila Gorongosa

Pachira glabra

Photo: Tongai Castigo
Municipal council, Vila Gorongosa

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Species details: Click on each item to see an explanation of that item (Note: opens a new window)

Synonyms: Bombacopsis glabra (Pasq.) Robyns
Bombax glabrum (Pasq.) Robyns
Bombax oleaginum (Decne.) Robyns
Pachira oleaginea Decne.
Pochota glabra (Pasq.) Bullock
Common names: Water chestnut (English)
Frequency:
Status: Introduced and occasionally naturalized
Description:
Small tree c. 3.5 m tall; branches sparsely stellate-hairy when young but soon becoming hairless. Leaves digitately 5─7-foliolate. Flowers usually solitary in the axils. Capsule c. 9 x 8 cm, ovoid, smooth, with many seeds embedded in whitish wool.
Type location:
Probably tropical America
Notes:
Derivation of specific name: glabra: hairless or glabrous.
Habitat:
Altitude range: (metres)
Flowering time:Jan
Worldwide distribution: Native to tropical America.
Growth form(s): Tree.
Endemic status:
Red data list status:
Insects associated with this species:
Spot characters: Display spot characters for this species
Literature:

Robyns, A. (1963). Bombacaceae Flore du Congo du Ruanda et du Burundi Volume X Pages 198 - 199. as Bombacopsis glabra

Wild, H. (1961). Bombacaceae Flora Zambesiaca 1(2) Pages 515 - 516. As Bombax oleagineum


Other sources of information about Pachira glabra:

Our websites:

Flora of the DRC: Pachira glabra
Flora of the DRC: cultivated Pachira glabra
Flora of Mozambique: cultivated Pachira glabra
Flora of Rwanda: cultivated Pachira glabra
Flora of Zambia: cultivated Pachira glabra
Flora of Zimbabwe: cultivated Pachira glabra

External websites:

African Plants: A Photo Guide (Senckenberg): Pachira glabra
African Plant Database: Pachira glabra
BHL (Biodiversity Heritage Library): Pachira glabra
EOL (Encyclopedia of Life): Pachira glabra
GBIF (Global Biodiversity Information Facility): Pachira glabra
Google: Web - Images - Scholar
iNaturalist: Pachira glabra
IPNI (International Plant Names Index): Pachira glabra
JSTOR Plant Science: Pachira glabra
Mansfeld World Database of Agricultural and Horticultural Crops: Pachira glabra
Plants of the World Online: Pachira glabra
Tropicos: Pachira glabra
Wikipedia: Pachira glabra


Copyright: The Rwanda flora team, 2024-26

The Rwanda flora team (2026). Flora of Rwanda: Species information: Pachira glabra.
https://www.rwandaflora.com/speciesdata/species.php?species_id=164050, retrieved 20 June 2026

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