Where is balsa wood grown?

Balsa wood is native to southern Brazil and Bolivia and can grow as far north as southern Mexico. Equador supplies 95% of the commercial balsa. It can be grown in Hawaii and Guam, and is in the cotton family of plants. Their flowers are pollinated by the capuchin monkeys and other nocturnal mammals, but not bats. It is a "pioneer" plant - it moves in when a space has been cleared whether it is a man-made cutting or fallen trees or fire devastation.