Chorisia speciosa - Floss Silk Tree, Kapok Tree

Ah, and the answer. Are these a mess? Seems like at some point they would have to start spreading around.

GT:

Actually they are a pretty clean tree. Small pieces of the Kapok fly away like very small cotton balls with seeds inbeded. Even when they flower they are not very messy.

Thats good news. Not like a cottonwood tree or cottony willow. Those collect all over, clogging gutters in town and matting up in the grass. I'm glad the beauty isn't marred.

GT:

The only deterrent to using this tree is the very large thorns all over the trunk and branches. However, in high-traffic areas many of the lowers thorns are removed from the trunk.

This is interesting.
Do the birds use the kapok for their nests ?

Terratoonie:

I'm sure they do...this tree is native to the Tropical Savannah areas of Brazil...I'm sure they have a lot of parrots native to this area.

The Kapok used to be used commercially to stuff pillows and other items. They still may be used in this way where they are native.

How interesting.

Ah... yes I remember this now ... was 6 years ago... Lol.

LOL! Yes, it's been quite a few years.

The humming birds have a nice a cozy little nest with this kapok. They really don't need to be kept too warm, though.

It's been an absolute blankin' inferno here the last 5 days...with the temps in the mid to upper 90s (37ºC)...even the nights have been super hot! Yuck! This weather isn't suppose to be here until July.

A bit too chilly here in UK ... I would like to wrap up in some kapok ... Lol.

Terratoonie:

We can't relate to chilly weather here, anymore. I couldn't even think about wrapping up in kapok. lol!

It's already 88ºF (31ºC) here at 10:30 a.m. I hope this is the last really hot day!