Dombeya wallichii is a flowering shrub of the family Malvaceae known by the common names pinkball, pink ball tree, and tropical hydrangea.Carter, K. Tropical Hydrangea: Dombeya wallichi. Center for Landscape and Urban Horticulture. University of California Cooperative Extension, Central Coast & South Region.
Description The plant can grow 20Gilman, E. F. and D. G. Watson. Dombeya wallichii: Pinkball. Document ENH391. Environmental Horticulture, Florida Cooperative Extension Service, Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences, University of Florida. Published 1993. Revised 2006. to 30 feet tall and has a spread of up to . The alternately arranged leaves are heart-shaped with serrated edges. The hanging flower clusters are pink, showy, and fragrant.
Range and habitat It is native to eastern Madagascar. Its natural distribution isn't well understood, but wild specimens were collected from two coastal streamside locations on the eastern coast of Madagascar – at Antalaha on the northeastern coast, and at Mandena on the southeastern coast.Skema, C. (2014). Reevaluation of Species Delimitations in Dombeya Section Hilsenbergia (Dombeyaceae). Systematic Botany, 39(2), 541–562. http://www.jstor.org/stable/24546163
It has been introduced by humans to Cuba, the Dominican Republic, Marianas, Mauritius, southwestern Mexico, Réunion, Thailand, and the Windward Islands, where it has naturalized.
Cultivation Dombeya wallichii is grown widely as a garden plant.
This species can be crossed with Dombeya burgessiae to produce the hybrid Dombeya × cayeuxii.
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