The silk floss speciosa

Vanessa Thompson ENH 101 11/27/11 • The natural habi- tat north-east of , Para- guay, and southern Bra- zil.

• tree • native to tropical and subtropical forests in • aka, palo borracho, or in Spanish the "drunken stick" • It belongs to the same family as the baobab and the kapok • It is resistant to drought and moderate cold. • It grows fast in spurts to more than 82 ft in height. • Its trunk is bottle-shaped, 7 ft in girth • prickles which serve to store water • In younger , the trunk is green which allows without , old- er tree trunks are gray. • The leaves are composed of five to seven long leaflets. • The five petals, 4 to 6 in in diameter • Their nectar attracts insects such as monarch , which pollinate the tree. • in bloom between February and May. • The are lignous ovoid pods, 8 in long, which contain bean-sized black surrounded by a mass of fibrous, fluffy matter reminiscent of or silk. • The cotton inside the pods, like the kapok tree, has been used as stuffing and is employed in packag- ing, to make canoes, as wood pulp to make paper, and in ropes. From the seeds it is possible to obtain vegetable oil for edible and industrial purpose. • The floss silk tree is mostly for ornamental purposes in private gardens urban streets. • is added to some versions of the hal- lucinogenic drink . • do not near lawn grasses • full sun and well drained soil, should be watered regularly but kept on the dry side • USDA zones 9b-11 • fast growing, 3-5ft per year