PlantFiles: Silk Cotton Tree, Kapok Tree, Red Silk Cotton Tree
Bombax ceiba

saw this treee in the grounds of the San Domica Palace hotel in Taormina in sicily.Was amazed at the trunk with the horrific lookin spines.Have seen in june in flower without seemingly leaves.Saw it again in September on on occasion it was full of cotton wool type balls which were then being blown about.Each ball had a small seed inside.I managed to cpture some but have been able to have any success with planting the seed.Going again there in a month but possibly all the seeds will have blown away

I have a Kapok tree that is about 25' tall. It is covered with awsome thorns. I understand as the tree gets larger it will grow out of these thorns and the adult tree will have a smooth bark. But right now I am just amazed at the thorns they, give the tree such a presents of strength and power.
But at the same time it is not a place for the kids to build a tree house, ouch. The blossoms are big and beautiful, and last a long time, followed by the silk, truely another spectatular display of natures diversity.

The ceiba is a well beloved tree in Cuba, where I was born and grew up. It is tied to several historical moments in the late 19th century and early 20th century when Cuba was fighting for its independence from Spain..

There are some very tall specimens in the Foster Botanical Gardens in Honolulu (near China Town)

There is a business park near my home with several very large trees. The thorns are not as prevelant as the pictures on this site. There are thorns covering the tree, but not nearly as large. I've not seen it in bloom, but I have seen the pods and what appear to be bouquets of cotton. Awesome looking tree. Grows well in Southern California.

I just collected some seeds from a tree here in St. Petersburg, FL, and am going to try growing some seedlings. I collected the seeds from some of the cotton-silk left over from the pods on the ground underneath the tree. I had originally seen this particular tree blooming a few months ago. I had never seen this kind of tree before, but the large, beautiful red flowers caught my attention. I don't think I would want this kind of tree in my yard--between the huge flowers dropping all over, and the pods and the cotton-silk fuzz balls falling later, it must be a mess! If I can get any of the seedlings to grow, I will see about planting one or more in a business park near the office building I work in. Then, I can enjoy it on walks through the park, but not have to clean up after it!

July 11th, 2004 Update: I now have 18 seedlings, about 6 inches tall! So far, they seem to be doing well. (Knock on wood).

July 17th, 2004 Update: Just uploaded a photo of the seedlings to the photo section.

This plant has a very long bloom period in Florida. It opens first bloom in fall, lights up the sky throughout winter and may still have a bloom or two in spring. It's a fabulous plant here.

I have observed this tree around the St. Petersburg, Fl. area and am in awe of the length of blooming time. They seem to be quite an attraction for wild Parrots!

Saw this tree for the first time in summer, and though attractive, didn't think much of it... just visited again this April and the look is totally different- leafless for one thing... but also covered with huge, bulky red flowers (all near top of tree so no great photos) with wide petals- reminiscent of a monstrous passion vine flower. Great look- nothing like it's cousin, Bombax elipticum (spelling?). Flowers up to 6" across... are edible. The root is used as some sort of aphrodesiac. Also the fruit has a fiber called Kapok that is used for stuffing pillows and mattresses.

What interests me about the Bombax is that it blooms so spectacularly for only a very short time--a week to 10 days.