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Monkey's Comb
Thomaz Ricardo Favreto Sinani, CC BY 4.0, via iNaturalist

Mallow family: kapok, cacao & okra

Monkey's Comb

Apeiba tibourbou Aubl.

LC Least Concern

Names

EnglishMonkey's Comb
Dutch—
SpanishAchota
Chinese—
Scientific nameApeiba tibourbou Aubl.

About this species

Apeiba tibourbou is a tree native to Caatinga and Cerrado vegetation in Brazil, and Costa Rica. It is used as an alternative fiber crop to make paper. It is found in Mexico, Central America, and the northern part of South America.

This fast-growing tree typically reaches 15 meters tall, though it can reach 25 meters in some habitats. The star-shaped yellow flowers give way to dry capsules covered with soft green spines. The leaves are pointed at the tip and rounded at the base, 10–30 centimeters long and 6–12 centimeters wide, borne on petioles 1–3 centimeters long. The leaf margins are lightly serrated, and the veins are lightly hairy.

The wood is light and floats easily, so it is used to make buoys and small boats.

Read more on Wikipedia · Text: Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0

Classification

KingdomPlantae
PhylumTracheophyta
ClassMagnoliopsida
OrderMalvales
FamilyMalvaceae
GenusApeiba

In Suriname

68Records in Suriname
4iNaturalist observations
1841First record
2017Latest record

Where it has been recorded

  • Sipaliwini30
  • Brokopondo2
  • Para2

Districts with at least one record that has coordinates. Shaded districts have records.

Records by month

All years combined.

Sources & credits

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