Common names include trumpet tree, trumpet-bush, bacano, bois canon and snakewood.

The petioles are generally 20–50 centimetres (8–20 in) long, while the branches are green and covered with short, stiff hairs.

E. J. H. Corner suggested moving the genus to the Urticaceae in 1962, while Cornelis Berg placed Cecropia in its own family, the Cecropiaceae.

[4] Based on molecular data, the Angiosperm Phylogeny Group merged the family back into the Urticaceae.

[6] Replacement of its very close ecological analogue, the native African Musanga cecropioides, by C. peltata has been reported along major roads of Cameroon.