Ceiba chodatii (Ceiba chodatii)
Description
Ceiba chodatii, the floss silk tree, is a species of deciduous tree native to the tropical and subtropical forests of South America. It has a bottle-shaped swollen trunk in which water is stored for the dry season and is known locally as palo borracho. Ceiba chodatii is a medium-sized deciduous tree with a tall, stout, bare trunk. It grows to about 12 metres (39 ft) tall, has a number of thick branches at the top of the swollen trunk and has a rounded crown. The bark is smooth with vertical ridges and horizontal wrinkles. It contains chlorophyll and is green when young and able to photosynthesize, but turns grey with age. It is covered with thick, woody conical spines. The alternate leaves are palmate with five lobes and serrated edges. The flowers are large, solitary and creamy white with a few purple flecks. They are up to 15 centimetres (5.9 in) long with yellow-green calyces and funnel-shaped corollas with five fleshy, hairy petals joined at the base. The fruit is a large, oblong green capsule. When ripe it splits open to reveal black seeds surrounded by a mass of white fibres resembling cotton.
Taxonomic tree
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Domain: Eukarya
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Kingdom: Plantae
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Phylum:
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Class: Magnoliopsida
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Order: Malvales
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Family: Malvaceae
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Genus: Ceiba
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