Bombax is a genus of mainly tropical trees in the mallow family. They are native to western Africa, the Indian subcontinent, Southeast Asia, as well as subtropical regions of East Asia and northern Australia. Distinguish from the genus Ceiba which has whiter flowers. Common names for the genus include silk cotton tree, simal, red cotton tree, kapok, and simply bombax. In Chinese they are known as Mumian (Chinese: 木棉; pinyin: mùmián), meaning "tree cotton". Currently four species are recognised, although many plants have been placed in the genus that were later moved.