Floss Silk

The first thing one notices in a Floss Silk tree (Chorisia speciosa) is its green bark covered by persistent, stout, grey spines. The tree belongs to the same group as cotton trees. Large, showy and pink and white flowers cover up the tree entirely during the flowering season: August – November. At that time the tree is mostly leafless. Floss Silk tree is a native of southern Brazil and Argentina.

Flowers of Floss Silk tree, which appear after monsoon, are extremely showy. A fully open flower may be six inches across, consisting of distinct and not fused, thick petals. The flowers are pale yellow or ivory and streaked in brown at the centre. Pink or purplish rose beyond the central colouration. The pistil consists of a five chambered ovary, a long white style, and topped by a hemispherical, rose-colored stigma. A tubular column formed by the fusion of five stamens surrounds the style. The filaments bear the anthers, which are loaded with pollen.

The Floss Silk tree is leafless during the flowering season. But some trees retain a few leaves which are lost gradually. The tree continues to be leafless in winter. New leaves start appearing after winter.

The green fruit can be seen hanging pendulously in winter. The fruit of Floss Silk tree is a capsule, oblong or somewhat pear-shaped and may grow to six inches in length. While it is developing and even later it is green. At maturity, five valves of the capsule fall away (the fruit is dehiscent) to reveal five elongate masses of silky white hairs. When released, these silky hairs help to disperse the seeds in strong winds.