5053.000 Dombeya Cav.

Shrubs or trees. Stipules present. Leaves unlobed or palmately lobed, petiolate, palmately-nerved; indumentum of stellate hairs often mixed with simple or glandular hairs. Flowers in axillary or terminal cymes or umbellate cymes, bisexual, white, pink or purplish. Bracts usually 3, caducous. Calyx of 5 lobes, reflexed in mature flowers. Petals 5, persistent and becoming papery or scarious in fruit. Staminodes 5, conspicuous. Ovary 3-5-locular. Fruit a dehiscent, ovoid or spherical, capsule.

Derivation of name: for Joseph Dombey (1742-1794) French botanist, physician, naturalist, explorer and traveller.

Worldwide: 225 species occurring in Africa, Madagascar and the Mascarenes.

Zimbabwe: 3 taxa.