Biology
A member of the mallow family, O. pyramidale is native to southern Brazil and northern to southern Mexico, but is now found in many other countries (Papua New Guinea, Indonesia, Thailand, Solomon Islands). It is a pioneer plant, which establishes itself in clearings in forests, either man-made or where trees have fallen, or in abandoned agricultural fields. It grows extremely rapidly, up to 90 ft (30 m) in 10–15 years. The speed of growth accounts for the lightness of the wood; balsa wood has a lower density than cork. Trees frequently do not live beyond 30 to 40 years.
Flowers are produced from the third year onwards, typically at the end of the rainy season when few other trees are in flower. The large flowers open in the late afternoon and remain open overnight. Each may contain a pool of nectar up to 1 in (3 cm) deep. Daytime pollinators include capuchin monkeys. However most pollination occurs at night. It was once thought that the main pollinators were bats; however recent evidence suggests that two nocturnal arboreal mammals, the kinkajou and the olingo, may be the primary pollinators.
Read more about this topic: Ochroma Pyramidale
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