Bombax ceiba

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Cotton tree
Cotton tree with only flowers in spring
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae Division: Magnoliophyta Class: Magnoliopsida Order: Malvales Family: Malvaceae Genus: Bombax Species: B. ceiba
Binomial name
Bombax ceiba L.
Synonyms
Bombax malabaricum DC. Salmalia malabarica

Bombax ceiba, like other trees of the genus Bombax, is commonly known as cotton tree or tree cotton. This tropical tree has a straight tall trunk and its leaves are deciduous in winter. Red flowers with 5 petals appear in the spring before the new foliage. It produces a capsule which, when ripe, contains white fibres like cotton. Its trunk bears spikes to deter attacks by animals. Although its stout trunk suggests that it is useful for timber, its wood is too soft to be very useful.

The tree is widely planted in Malay, Indonesia, south China, Hong Kong and Taiwan. According to Chinese historical record, the king of Nam Yuet, Chiu To, gave a tree to the Emperor of Han dynasty in 2nd Century BC.

The cotton inside the fruits was used a substitute for cotton. The flower was a common ingredient in Chinese herb tea.

In Guangdong, the tree is known as muk min (木棉, lit. wood cotton) or hung min (紅棉, lit. red cotton). It is also known as Ying Hung Shue (英雄樹, lit. hero tree), for its straight and tall trunk.

The tree flower is the flower emblem of Guangzhou and Kaohsiung.

The Sanskrit name for this tree is Salmali. In the Rigveda, the chariot is made of Salmali (RV 10.85.20) and other woods.

Folk knowledge in Hong Kong states that soon after the tree blooms, the weather will get hotter.

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Large-billed Crow feeding on Bombax ceida in Keoladeo National Park, Bharatpur, India.	Young tree in Kolkata, West Bengal, India.	trunk of an old tree in Kolkata, West Bengal, India.	leaves in Kolkata, West Bengal, India.
leaves (back side) in Kolkata, West Bengal, India.	leaf in Kolkata, West Bengal, India.	House Crows at canopy in Kolkata, West Bengal, India.	flowers in Kolkata, West Bengal, India.
flowers in Kolkata, West Bengal, India.	flowering tree in Kolkata, West Bengal, India.	flowering canopy in Kolkata, West Bengal, India.	flower buds at Narendrapur near Kolkata, West Bengal, India.
flower bud in Kolkata, West Bengal, India.	a view from below in Kolkata, West Bengal, India.