Red Silk Cotton Tree (Bombax ceiba)

Family: Malvaceae | Edibility: Edible (2/5)

Kapok Tree, Bombax ceiba, is a fast-growing, tropical, large tree up to 20-25 m tall and spreads 8-15 m wide. It has an erect stem that develops buttresses when mature and an umbrella shaped crown. The leaves are bright green, leathery, and rounded. The flowers are cup shaped and red. The fruits are brown oval capsule.

Edible Parts & Harvest Seasons

Edible Parts: Nuts/Seeds, Leaves, Roots/Tubers, Flowers, Bark/Inner Bark

Harvest Seasons: Early Summer, Fall, Late Summer, Spring, Winter

Flavor & Culinary Uses

Rich in starch. — Edible portion: Roots, Leaves, Flowers, Fruit, Seeds - oil, Gum.; Flowers - cooked or pickled.; They are highly valued as a curry vegetable.; The flower buds and the calyx of not fully opened flowers are eaten cooked as a vegetable.

Habitat & North American Range

Hot, dry river valleys, savannah; at elevations below 1,400 metres in southern China. Humid lowland deciduous forests. Often found near stream banks. (Zone 10)