Botany Photo of the Day

Fascinating tree trunk - wouldn't want to have to climb it to escape wild dogs or something.

The fluff on the top picture is really weird. Looks like the stuff has just accidentally blown there from afar.

The puffs in the first picture look so awkward you'd think the image was simply a display of bad Photoshopping.

This species has definite bi-polar tendencies (excuse the anthropormorphism) - soft and fluffy on top - spiky and hard below. Nature never fails to surprise and delight does it?

I have a picture of the flowers if anyone's interested...

Is it not spinning the fibers aren't suited for?

Such an interesting tree! Thanks for posting.

Sorry, I must be retired too long now but all the year that I was Staff in the Botany Dept. at San Diego State University and all the years that I had my own Nursery Business and did Plant Pathology Consultations over the years --- those picture of yours are pictures of the creature I knew as bein Chorisia speciosa, also known as the Floss Silk Tree or as they called it at my Nursery, The Wife Beater Tree! The Horticulturalist at Balbo Park even started referring to them as "Wife Beater" after we started selling them as such after the failure of the ERA attempt in the '70s & 80's.
Oops, time to smile! morris

when I was a kid (30 years ago) we used to have pillows that were filled with kapok...I don't know what kapok it was but it was really unconfortable and lumpy!

Wow, what a neat looking tree. The trunk is scary! The fluffy cotton like debris stuck in the branch is so cool.

You can use it to stuff dolls or something.

Island Jim, I would love to see a picture of the flower. Do you have a link to it? Thanks!

Oh wait, I remember this tree. I've seen it at Target shopping center in Cupertino, Ca. I have always wonder what was the name of this neat tree.

Link to flower here - http://www.flickr.com/photos/32454422@N00/2085631489

I see that this is in the same family (Malvaceae) as the Bombax genus cotton trees. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bombax_malabaricum).

I am not a botanist. Can anyone explain why there are two different genera for cotton-producing trees?

Thanks

Hi Eric, love the recent posts. Many thanks for taking over the duty from Daniel. Many of us appreciate it very much.

I am curious about something I noticed in your post today. From considerable field work in Costa Rica and elsewhere in Latin America, I am under the impression that Ceiba pentandra is in fact native to the New World. But in the description of C. speciosa above, you assert that C. pentandra is native to Asia... So, which one of us is wrong?

Karthik,

The same reason there are multiple genera for trees with yellow flowers, or trees with white latex sap, etc. Almost all modern classifications are based on evolutionary relatedness. In this case, the Ceiba speciosa is more closely related to other Ceiba species than it is to and Bombax species, even though it shares their cotton-producing tendencies. Hope that helps.

Aha, I am pretty sure I have seen this tree or one very like it (with the trunk spikes) in the tropical biome at the Eden Project here in Cornwall. The ants seem to like it a lot.

Is this the 'drunken forest' tree referred to in Gerald Durrell's book of the same name?

Hi, This is the first time for our family writing a comment. It's not scientific but my 9 year old son looked at the picture of the trunk and said it looks like "chocolate chips." We are sure learning a lot from the pictures and the information. THANKS!

Hi Cody,

I agree with you. I am almost pretty sure that Ceiba pentandra is native to the Neotropics.

Cheers,

Alina.

Cody and Alina, you are correct. I am sorry. I was writing in haste. The species is widely cultivated in Asia, but not native. Ceiba pentandra.

I know this tree also as Chorisia speciosa...it grew as a street tree outside my office in Brentwood, Los Angeles.

It had pink flowers though and they did not look like cotton balls such as the picture shows!! Same trunk characteristics.

We use kapok to fill our zafu - cushions used for meditation in the zendo. Neat to see its source!

I am absolutely passionate about these trees! It was the first species that I ever germinated and planted arroud the city of São Paulo - Brazil. Have lots of pictures (http://www.panoramio.com/user/3229927), an special article (http://arvoresvivas.wordpress.com/?s=paineiras&searchbutton=go!)

Chorisia's are like mothers of the forest to me! I love to look to their trunks and see similaryties to our human body!!!

Very glad to have lots of new information about it!! Have a nice week everynoe!