How to Manage and ID Chorisia speciosa

Chorisia speciosa is a rounded, deciduous tree with widespreading branches which are green when young and covered with spines, often becoming grey and sometimes losing their coarse, sharp spines. Young trees can have a columnar or upright form. The spiny trunk is unusually thick and remains green even on older trees. Chorisia speciosa or Floss-Silk tree can reach 50 feet in height with an equal or greater spread, and grows rapidly the first few years, then more slowly.

Scientific name: Chorisia speciosa
Pronunciation: koe-RIZZ-ee-uh spee-see-OH-suh
Common name(s): Floss-Silk Tree
Family: Bombacaceae
USDA hardiness zones: 9B through 11
Origin: not native to North America
Uses: recommended for buffer strips around parking lots or for median strip plantings in the highway; shade tree; specimen; residential street tree
Availability: generally available in many areas within its hardiness range

Height: 35 to 50 feet
Spread: 40 to 55 feet
Crown uniformity: irregular outline or silhouette
Crown shape: round; pyramidal; upright
Crown density: moderate
Growth rate: fast
Texture: coarse

Leaf arrangement: alternate
Leaf type: palmately compound
Leaflet margin: serrate
Leaflet shape: elliptic (oval)
Leaflet venation: pinnate
Leaf type and persistence: deciduous
Leaflet blade length: 4 to 8 inches; 2 to 4 inches
Leaf color: green
Fall color: no fall color change
Fall leaf characteristic: not showy

Trunk/bark/branches: bark is thin and easily damaged from mechanical impact; grow mostly upright and will not droop; should be grown with a single leader; thorns are present on the trunk or branches; very showy trunk
Pruning requirement: requires pruning to develop strong structure
Breakage: resistant
Current year twig color: green
Current year twig thickness: medium

Flower color: pink; white
Flower characteristics: fall flowering; very showy; winter flowering
The large, showy, pink and white, five-petaled flowers, which somewhat resemble narrow-petaled hibiscus, are produced in small clusters in fall and winter (usually October) when the tree is nearly bare. The fruits are large, eight-inch-long, pear-shaped, woody capsules, filled with silky, white, kapok-like floss and pea-like seeds.

Light requirement: tree grows in full sun
Soil tolerances: clay; loam; sand; acidic; occasionally wet; alkaline; well-drained
Drought tolerance: high
Aerosol salt tolerance: low

Prune the tree to be sure that only one central trunk develops when the tree is young. The central leader becomes less vigorous in middle age, allowing lateral limbs to develop into the main structure of the tree producing a spreading form.

An excellent specimen tree for parks, parking lots, and other large landscapes, Floss-Silk tree is spectacular when in bloom, producing an outstanding show of flower color in the fall. Large roots often form at the base of the trunk just beneath the soil, so be careful not to plant the tree too close to sidewalks or pavement. Fifteen feet from curbs, driveways and sidewalks should be adequate.
Some Floss-Silk trees maintain a relatively narrow crown with one straight trunk while others are wide-spreading, particularly on older specimens. Floss from the seeds was used for stuffing pillows and thin strips of the bark have been used to make rope.