Floss Silk Tree

Chorisia speciosa A. St.-Hil.

coar-IZZ-ee-ah speece-ee-OH-sah

Bombacaceae

Explanation of name: Named for Ludwig Choris (1795-1859), Swiss botanist (DEH). Speciosa means showy.

Natural range: South America

Recognition: Open tree with spiny, thick, gray trunk and alternate palmately compound leaves. Flowers showy, 5” across, pink (or lavender or rarely white.  Chorisia insignis has white flowers.) . The large, woody pear-shaped fruits filled with floss.

Landscape uses: A deciduous, fast-growing specimen tree with exceptionally large showy flowers. Requires some protection and does not hold up well against hurricanes. Sometimes grafted.