A large shrub or small tree, pink-ball dombeya (Dombeya wallichii) features rounded, hanging clusters of flowers 4 to 6 inches across. Native to east Africa and Madagascar, the genus is a highly sought-after ornamental in USDA Zones 9 and warmer.

The genus name celebrates the French physician, botanist, and explorer Joseph Dombey. Under the auspices of the French crown, he undertook plant explorations in South America in the eighteenth century. The British seized Dombey's first shipment of specimens, including valuable notes on Cinchona, the source of quinine. The Peruvian government admired the color prints he commissioned, seized them, and turned them over to two Spanish botanists who were working on the flora of Panama. On Dombey's return trip to France, his ship was diverted to Spain, where remaining specimens were seized and he was thrown into jail until he agreed not to publish his notes until after the Spanish botanists published their Panamanian flora. Dombey's acquiescence to the Spanish demands led him back to France, where he was commissioned to collect plants in the United States. En route, his ship was captured by privateers, and the intrepid Dombey died in captivity in Monserrat. Dombey's collections are highly valued parts of British, Spanish, and French herbaria; his name has been used by his fellow botanists to commemorate this beautiful genus of flowering shrubs and several species of South American trees and perennials.

The species name also celebrates Danish physician and botanist Nathaniel Wallich. Dr. Wallich was in the Danish colony at Serampore in India when it was taken over by the British as a result of Denmark's support for France during the Napoleonic Wars. Due to his education, Dr. Wallich was released from prison and continued to work in India under the auspices of the East India Company. He helped establish Assam as a primary tea-growing area, created the first European Museum of Indian Art, and helped found the Calcutta Botanical Garden.