kapok, also known as Panzhihua, beacon tree and hero tree. Large trees growing in the south of China, up to 3 meters high. Flowers bloom in early spring every year, and then leaves grow. The flower is about 7, 8cm in diameter, five-petaled, bisexual and with thick petals. The fruit is slightly spindle-shaped, cracks when it matures, and flocculent white fibers fall with the seeds.

Kapok tree is a fast-growing and strongly positive tree species, and its crown is always higher than the surrounding trees to strive for sunshine and rain. Kapok, with its enterprising spirit and bright red flowers, is known as hero tree and hero flower. The earliest person who called kapok a "hero" was Chen Gongyin of Qing Dynasty. In his Song of Kapok, he described kapok as "a hero with a thick beard and a broad face, and he was full of vigor and high crown".