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Ceiba aesculifolia
Pochote is a large, thorny deciduous tree of seasonally dry forests from Mexico to Costa Rica, grown mainly for ornament, shade and its silky seed fiber. The key to growing it is full sun, excellent drainage and very little water once established.
Ceiba aesculifolia is a tree belonging to the Malvaceae family. It can reach up to 30 m (98 ft) in height and has a thick trunk. In its juvenile stages, the trunk is covered with large, conical thorns. The fruit is a giant capsule that encloses its seeds in a thick layer of soft, white, silky fiber. This fiber has been used to stuff mattresses. Handicrafts are made from the bark and thorns. The tree has medicinal properties. It is the sacred tree of the Mayans.
It is also known as ceiba and pochote.
C. aesculifolia is found in low, dry, deciduous forests, as well as north-central and Pacific zones, at altitudes ranging from 20–850 m (66–2,789 ft). It lives from Mexico to Costa Rica. It flowers January to April, and fruits May to June.
Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Ceiba aesculifolia by its contributors, under CC BY-SA 4.0; the excerpts and the care summary drawn from them are shared under the same licence.
The care summary was written by AI (Claude, Anthropic) from the sources on this page, with general growing knowledge where they are silent. Check before relying on it.
Life form, climate and native range: World Checklist of Vascular Plants, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (CC BY 3.0), reformatted; see Plants of the World Online.
