Kapok blooms from March to April.
Kapok, is a plant of the genus Kapok in the family Papilionaceae.
Kapok, is a large deciduous tree, up to 25 meters high, with grayish-white bark, and the trunks of young trees usually have cone-shaped thick spines; branches are spreading. Leaves palmately compound, leaflets 5 to 7, oblong to oblong-lanceolate, 10 to 16 centimeters long, 3.5 to 5.5 centimeters wide, apically acuminate, base broad or attenuate, entire, glabrous on both surfaces, pinnate lateral veins 15 to 17 pairs, uplifted, with one thinner, 2nd-order lateral vein in between, reticulate veins very fine, slightly raised on both surfaces; petiole 10 to 20 centimeters long; petiolules 1.5 to 4 centimeters long; stipules small.
Flowers solitary in apical leaf axils of branches, usually red, sometimes orange-red, ca. 10 cm across; calyx cup-shaped, 2 to 3 cm long, outside glabrous, inside densely yellowish sericeous, calyx teeth 3 to 5, semiorbicular, 1.5 cm high, 2.3 cm wide, petals fleshy, obovate-oblong, 8 to 10 cm long, 3 to 4 cm wide, stellate-pilose on both surfaces but sparsely so on the inner surface; androgynophore shorter Staminal tube short, filaments thicker, base thick, tapering upward, inner whorl part of filaments bifurcate above, middle 10 stamens shorter, not forked, outer whorl stamens numerous, grouped in 5 bundles, each bundle with more than 10 filaments, longer; style longer than stamens. Capsule oblong, obtuse, 10 to 15 cm long, 4.5 to 5 cm thick, densely gray-white villous and stellate pilose; seeds numerous, obovate, smooth. Flowering from March to April, fruit ripening in summer. Kapok seeding rate of about 20%, seed mass of about 42 grams per thousand grains.
Cottonwood was born in the altitude of 1400 to 1700 meters below the dry and hot river valleys and savanna, but also can grow in the ravine monsoon rainforest within the cottonwood planting should choose sunny, well-drained, deep fertile soil neutral or slightly alkaline alluvial soil is preferred, in the arid and infertile, the soil viscous place prone to poor growth.
Kapok is distributed in China's Yunnan, Sichuan, Guizhou, Guangxi, Jiangxi, Guangdong, Fujian and other subtropical provinces and regions.
The main value of kapok:
Medicinal: flowers can be used for vegetable food, medicine to remove heat and dampness; bark for tonic medicine.
Economic: fruit wool can be used as pillows, mattresses, life buoys and other filling materials. Seed oil can be used as lubricants, soap. Wood is light and soft, can be used as a steamer, box board, match stems, papermaking and so on.
Ornamental: large and beautiful flowers, tree posture, can be planted as garden ornamental trees, street trees.
The kapok has a very nice appearance, its flowers are red or orange-red, very ornamental. It also has a name, called the hero flower, so it's is a symbol of the hero, if someone gives it to himself, it means you are the other side of the hero. When it is in full bloom, it is very hot and passionate, and it will also bring joy and happiness to everyone, and its flower language is to cherish the people around you and the happiness around you, so it also symbolizes a good and hot love.
Giving it to your elders is perfect, representing your love and admiration for them. It is especially suitable to give to your own father, proving that he is a heroic being in your heart.
Giving it to a friend shows that you cherish this hard-won friendship.
Giving it to your lover is a sign of your love for each other, and it also means that you cherish each other and the happiness you have at the moment.