Raffi at 15:24, 19 February 2008

2008-02-19T15:24:51Z

Raffi at 15:24, 19 February 2008

2008-02-19T15:24:07Z

Raffi at 00:36, 19 February 2008

2008-02-19T00:36:13Z

New page

{{Taxobox
| color = lightgreen
| name = Floss silk tree
| image = Palo_borracho_(1).jpg
| image_width = 240px
| image_caption = A sapling of ''Ceiba speciosa'', planted in a small urban square in [[Rosario]], [[Argentina]].
| regnum = [[Plant]]ae
| divisio = [[Flowering plant|Magnoliophyta]]
| classis = [[Magnoliopsida]]
| ordo = [[Malvales]]
| familia = [[Malvaceae]] ([[Bombacaceae]])
| genus = ''[[Ceiba]]''
| species = '''''C. speciosa'''''
| binomial = ''Ceiba speciosa''
| binomial_authority = ([[Augustin Saint-Hilaire|A.St.-Hil.]], [[Adrien-Henri de Jussieu|A.Juss.]] & [[Jacques Cambessèdes|Cambess.]]) Ravenna
| synonyms = ''Chorisia speciosa''
}}
{{redirect3|Drunken tree|for drunken forests, see: [[drunken trees]]}}

The '''floss silk tree''' (''Ceiba speciosa'', formerly ''Chorisia speciosa''), is a species of [[deciduous]] [[tree]] native to the tropical and subtropical forests of [[South America]]. It has a host of local common names, such as '''''palo borracho''''' (in [[Spanish language|Spanish]] literally "drunken tree"). It belongs to the same family as the [[baobab]] and the [[kapok]]. Another tree of the ''Ceiba'' genus, ''C. chodatii'', often receives the same common names.

The natural habitat of the floss silk tree is the north-east of [[Argentina]], [[Paraguay]], and southern [[Brazil]]. It is resistant to [[drought]] and moderate cold. It grows fast in spurts when water is abundant, and sometimes reaches more than 25 [[metre|m]] in height. Its [[trunk]] is bottle-shaped, generally bulging in its lower third, measuring up to 2 m in girth. It is studded with thick conical [[spine (biology)|prickle]]s which serve to store water for dry times. In younger trees, the trunk is green due to its high [[chlorophyll]] content, which makes it capable of performing [[photosynthesis]] when leaves are absent; with age it turns to gray.

The [[branch]]es tend to be horizontal and are also covered with prickles. The [[leaf|leaves]] are composed of five to seven long leaflets.

The [[flower]]s are creamy-whitish in the center and pink towards the tips of their five petals. They measure 10-15 [[centimetre|cm]] in diameter and their shape is not unlike [[hibiscus]] flowers. Their nectar is known to attract insects such as [[Monarch butterfly|monarch butterflies]], which perform [[pollination]]. ''C. speciosa'' flowers are in bloom between February and May. The flowers of the related ''C. chodatii'' are similar in form and size, but their color goes from creamy white centers to yellow tips.

The [[fruit]]s are lignous ovoid pods, 20 cm long, which contain bean-sized black [[seed]]s surrounded by a mass of fibrous, fluffy matter reminiscent of [[cotton]] or [[silk]].

==Uses==

The "cotton" inside the fruit pods, although not of as good quality as kapok, has been used as stuffing for pillows and thermic insulation at times.

The [[wood]] of this tree is light ([[relative density]] = 0.27 [[gram|g]]/[[cubic centimetre|cm³]]), soft and flexible, and is employed in packaging, to make [[canoe]]s, as [[wood pulp]] to make [[paper]], and in ropes. From the seeds it is possible to obtain [[vegetable oil]] (both edible and industrially useful).

The floss silk tree is cultivated mostly for ornamental purposes. Outside of private gardens around the world, it is often planted along urban streets.

''Chorisia speciosa'' is added to some versions of the hallucinogenic drink [[Ayahuasca]].<ref>[http://www.serendipity.li/dmt/hoasca.html#tbl1 Ayahuasca Analogues]</ref>

==Gallery==
<gallery>
Image:Balboa park flower closeup.JPG|Flower of variety "Majestic Beauty"
Image:Ceiba chodatii flowers.jpg|Flowers of ''Ceiba chodatii''
Image:Balboa park thorny trunk.JPG|Thick, conical thorns
Image:Ceiba sp branches.jpg|Thorny branches
Image:Balboa park flower and fruit.jpg|Fruit
Image:Ceiba speciosa 1.jpg|''Ceiba speciosa'' (pink flowers)
Image:Ceiba speciosa 2.jpg|''Ceiba chodatii'' (yellow flowers)
Image:Floss silk tree puffs.jpg|Puffs from opened fruit
</gallery>

==References==
===Notes===
{{reflist}}

===General references===
* [http://plantconservatory.calpoly.edu/Tour/Ceiba.html Brief description] of the tree.
* [http://bonsaimania.com/bonsai_fichas/chorisia_speciosa.htm Chorisia genus] (in Spanish) - Common features of the genus.
* [http://netlist.co.nz/communities/Wharepuke/Feature.cfm?WPID=4399 Subtropicals growing in Kerikeri] - A report on C. speciosa as cultivated in New Zealand.
* [http://www.malvaceae.info/Genera/Ceiba/gallery.html Ceiba gallery] - Many pictures of trees of the ''Ceiba'' genus.
* [http://www.infojardin.net/foro_jardineria/viewtopic.php?t=21344&start=0 More pictures] and comments about cultivation (in Spanish).

@@ Line 4: / Line 4: @@
 | image = Chorisia speciosa.jpg
 | image_width = 240px
-| image_caption = A sapling of ''Ceiba speciosa'', planted in a small urban square in [[Rosario]], [[Argentina]].
+| image_caption = Full bloom
 | regnum = [[Plant]]ae
 | divisio = [[Flowering plant|Magnoliophyta]]

@@ Line 2: / Line 2: @@
 | color = lightgreen
 | name = Floss silk tree
-| image = Palo_borracho_(1).jpg
+| image = Chorisia speciosa.jpg
 | image_width = 240px
 | image_caption = A sapling of ''Ceiba speciosa'', planted in a small urban square in [[Rosario]], [[Argentina]].
@@ Line 40: / Line 40: @@
 ==Gallery==
 <gallery>
 Image:Balboa park flower closeup.JPG|Flower of variety "Majestic Beauty"
 Image:Ceiba chodatii flowers.jpg|Flowers of ''Ceiba chodatii''

Floss silk tree - Revision history

Raffi at 15:24, 19 February 2008

Raffi at 15:24, 19 February 2008

Raffi at 00:36, 19 February 2008