Virginia Tech Dendrology

red silk cottontree Bombacaceae Bombax ceiba L. symbol: BOCE2
Leaf: Alternate, deciduous, palmately compound, 4 inches wide, with 5-7 narrow leaflets with entire edges; born on a long petiole.
Flower: Very showy red, to 4 inches across, with 5 strap-like petals, cupped with numerous stamens surrounding the stigma; appearing near the end of the twigs late winter to spring, when the leaves are absent.
Fruit: A 2 inch brown capsule that dehisce along 5 sutures to reveal black seeds encased in "cotton".
Twig: Stout, gray-brown with reddish domed buds; leaf scars large and rounded; numerous spines may be present.
Bark: Very unique, gray-brown or green-striped and smooth, with large spine-tipped corky-pyramidal projections, losing spines with age.
Form: A medium-sized tree with a stocky trunk and rounded crown.

Additional Range Information: Bombax ceiba is planted in the USDA hardiness zones shown above and is not known to widely escape cultivaton. Download the full-size PDF map.
External Links: USDA Plants Database
All material 2021 Virginia Tech Dept. of Forest Resources and Environmental Conservation; Photos and text by: John Seiler, Edward Jensen, Alex Niemiera, and John Peterson; Silvics reprinted from Ag Handbook 654; range map source information