This tree needs a better name

I have fallen in love with Pseudobombax ellipticum. I use the scientific name because the closest thing it has to a common English name, shaving brush tree, is, if not already meaningless, on its way to becoming so. When is the last time anyone you know used an actual shaving brush? And besides, the spectacular flowers bear little resemblance to any shaving brush that I have ever seen (of which, admittedly, there are not many). If I were to name the tree after a technological artifact, I would probably call it the fiber optic tree due to its showy stamens (though people in Mayan villages would probably not find that name particularly useful as a descriptor, either).

Photo courtesy of David Mitton

One of the Aztec names for Pseudobombax is Xiloxochitl, or "cornsilk flower," which at least makes sense. An old Spanish common name was more romantic: cabellos de angel, or "angel hair." Whatever you call the plant, it is gorgeous, and when it reaches full size (which under optimal conditions can be more than fifty feet), absolutely show-stopping.

This is a tree of semi-arid regions with poor, shallow soils, though it will flourish in regions with more regular rainfall. It is not cold- tolerant, so outside its native range of southern Mexico and Central America, it must be container-grown and brought indoors in the winter. In Yucatan, however, this deciduous tree begins blooming during the Nortes of January and continues for some time, with its outrageous pink or white blossoms putting on quite a show against the bare branches.

Like most flowering plants, though, Pseudobombax is not just pretty. It is a nectar source for hummingbirds, orioles, and a number of tropical insects, including the threatened Melipona bees. At one time, the wood was used for carving and the kapok fibers from the tree's seed pods as stuffing for pillows. In traditional medicine, a tea made from the blossoms was used to treat fevers and coughs, perhaps not surprising as the plant is now classified as a member of the Malva family, like the hibiscus used in a number of herbal teas.

And humans being what they are, the ancient Maya reportedly managed to make an intoxicating beverage from the tree. I have not seen a recipe for this concoction, suggesting that perhaps one should not attempt its production at home.