Ceiba Speciosa–Silk Floss Tree

When I first published pictures of the flowers of this tree, I didn’t know its name, so I identified it as a Mexican Orchid Tree.

I later published pictures of its thorny trunk.  These photos of the trunk are new, as are all of these photos, except for the ones that show flowers, since the tree is no longer blooming. (An explanation of supposed reasons for the thorns is given below in the comments section.)
At first, when the fruit appeared, I thought it must be a breadfruit tree:

but later, when its very large pods started to burst open, revealing huge clumps of what looked like kapok–the material that was once used for packing material and to pad envelopes–I told a friend that it was a kapok tree.

Today for some reason I was reminded that I’d meant to see if this was true and an hour’s research online finally earned me an answer.  Although it is not a kapok tree, it is related to it and the stuffing inside the large pods is often used as packing material as well as in the production of canoes, wood pulp and ropes.

In addition, oil from its seeds may be used for both commercial and cooking purposes.

All in all, a most intriguing tree.  I was so happy to have identified it that I drove through stop and go bumper-to-bumper weekend traffic to get these additional shots to thrill you all with my new knowledge.  You are thrilled, right???

What is the name of this tree and flower???? Ceiba Speciosa–Silk Floss Tree

To pingback your flower picture to the prompt or to see Cee’s or other flowers, go here: http://ceenphotography.com/2016/01/02/flower-of-the-day-january-3-2016-amaryllis-bud-flower-day-8/