Bombax ceiba

Bombax ceiba
A cotton tree seen here at Delhi with flowers which bloom from February to April
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
Clade:	Angiosperms
Clade:	Eudicots
Clade:	Rosids
Order:	Malvales
Family:	Malvaceae
Genus:	Bombax
Species:	B. ceiba
Binomial name
Bombax ceiba L.
Synonyms
Bombax aculeatum L. B. ceiba Burm.f. B. ceiba var. leiocarpum Robyns B. heptaphyllum Cav. B. malabaricum DC. B. thorelii Gagnep. B. tussacii Urb. Gossampinus malabarica Merr. G. rubra Buch.-Ham. G. thorelii Bakh. Melaleuca grandiflora Blanco Salmalia malabarica (DC.) Schott & Endl.

Bombax ceiba, like other trees of the genus Bombax, is commonly known as cotton tree. More specifically, it is sometimes known as red silk-cotton; red cotton tree; or ambiguously as silk-cotton or kapok, both of which may also refer to Ceiba pentandra.

This Asian tropical tree has a straight tall trunk and its leaves are deciduous in winter. Red flowers with 5 petals appear in the spring before the new foliage. It produces a capsule which, when ripe, contains white fibres like cotton. Its trunk bears spikes to deter attacks by animals. Although its stout trunk suggests that it is useful for timber, its wood is too soft to be very useful.