Pseudobombax ellipticum
{{Short description|Species of tree}}
{{Speciesbox
|image = Pseudobombax ellipticum album.jpg
|genus = Pseudobombax
|species = ellipticum
}}
Pseudobombax ellipticum, with common names including shaving brush tree, Dr Seuss tree, and amapolla tree, is a species of plant in the subfamily Bombacoideae of the family Malvaceae.
Distribution
The tree is native to southern Mexico, El Salvador, Guatemala, Hispaniola, Honduras and Cuba.
Description
Pseudobombax elipticum is a tree that can reach 18 m (60 ft) in height and 1.3 m (4 ft) d.b.h. Its branches are close to the base of the stem. It is a deciduous tree with succulent stems. Each of the flowers can produce hundreds of tiny black seeds (.1mm) that germinate within approximately 30 days.
The flowers are cotton candy pink. featuring several hundred stamens up to five inches in length.{{cite book | last1= Kuck | first1= Loraine E. | last2= Tongg | first2= Richard C. | date= 1960 | title= Hawaiian Flowers and Flowering Trees - A Guide to Tropical and Semitropical Flora | location= Rutland, Vermont | publisher=Charles E. Tuttle Co. | page= 27}} The flowers are fragrant and are quite sticky if peeled back.
Uses
Uses include firewood and wood for carving handicrafts.
The attractive flowers are used to decorate homes and churches in Central America.[http://www.rngr.net/Publications/ttsm/Folder.2003-07-11.4726/PDF.2004-03-16.0110/at_download/file Pseudobombax ellipticum (Kunth) Dugand] In Central America, a highly intoxicating drink is made from the tree.Maya, Divine Kings of the Rain Forest (ed. Nikolai Grube), Köln (Cologne) 2001, pp. 430-ff. {{ISBN|9783829041508}}
;Cultivation
The tree is grown as an ornamental tree in Florida, Hawaii, and coastal Southern California.
Gallery
File:Pseudobombax ellipticum, Huntington.jpg|Trunk
File:Pseudobombax ellipticum 06 ies.jpg|Leaves
File:Pseudobombax ellipticum at Ringling.jpeg|Tree and blossom
File:Pseudobombax ellipticum floral scale model.jpg|Flower in hand for scale
References
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Category:Trees of Northern America
Category:Garden plants of North America
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