Commemorating K. G. von Firmian (1718–82), one-time Governor-General of Lombardy.
Deciduous trees. Leaves alternate, long-stalked, simple and palmate. Flowers unisexual in terminal clusters, 5-parted. Sepals coloured, tubular. Petals absent. Fruit of up to 5 papery, leaf-like follicles.
Rarely grown but can tolerate, though poorly, the cold of Canberra.
Seed.
12 species, mostly tropical from E Asia, the Malay Archipelago and Pacific Islands, although ranges to east Africa.
Kostermans (1957).
Source: (1997). Sterculiaceae. In: . Horticultural Flora of South-eastern Australia. Volume 2. Flowering plants. Dicotyledons. Part 1. The identification of garden and cultivated plants. University of New South Wales Press.
