Chandigarh Forest Flora
A Comprehensive Database of Ligneous Plants of Chandigarh (India)
Designed & Developed by Bioinformatics Centre, Forest Research Institute, Dehradun
| Family: Bombacaceae | Genus: Ceiba | Species:
Ceiba speciosa (A. St.-Hil.) Ravenna
|
Habit |
Leaf |
Flower |
Fruit |
Bark |
|
|
| Synonym | Chorisia speciosa A.St.-Hil., Chorisia speciosa var. minor Chodat | Flower Color | Red - Pink |
| Common Name | Kapok, Resham rui | Flower Type | Solitary |
| English / Trade Name | Silk floss tree, Floss silk tree | Flowering Period | Oct-Dec |
| Vernacular /Local Name | Kapok, Resham rui | Fruiting Period | Jan-March |
| Altitude | Upto 1200 m | Fruit Type | Capsule |
| Habit | Tree | Fruit Details | Capsules, woody, oblong, green, and dehiscent, to about 8 inches long. Seeds embedded in white fiber |
| Habitat | It is resistant to drought and moderate cold. It grows fast in spurts when water is abundant. | Bark Type | Prickly |
| Distribution | Brazil, Bolivia, Argentina | Bark Details | The trunk and branches are covered with stout spines, but those on the trunk may disappear with age. |
| Distribution in chandigarh | Chandigarh Botanical Garden and Nature Park | Origin | Exotic |
| Leaf Type | Compound | ||
| Leaf Arrangement | Alternate (leaves born singly along stem) | ||
| Leaf Shape | Palmate | ||
| Description of Species | It is a conical deciduous tree with somewhat irregular branching reaching over 40 feet. The trunk and branches are covered with stout spines, but those on the trunk may disappear with age. The trunks of mature trees is often swollen and bottle-shaped. The seeds are imbedded in a white cottony fiber, which when broken apart, are dispersed by the wind. The fiber was once used to stuff pillow and mattresses. Each palmate, compound, light green leaf has 5-7 serrate, lanceolate leaflets (each to 5" long). Leaves typically drop in fall before this tree blooms. Open, five-petaled, funnel-shaped flowers (3-5" diameter) which somewhat resemble hibiscus bloom late fall to early winter. Flowers are quite showy, featuring pink to rose-purple petals with creamy white to yellowish-white throats. Flowers are followed by pear-shaped capsules (fruit pods) filled with seed embedded in silky white | Leaf Details | Palmate, alternate, to 5 inches long, on long petiole, with 5-7 narrowly finely serrated elliptic leaflets |
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