Pseudobombax ellipticum, with common names including Coquito, 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, Nicaragua and Cuba.
Description Pseudobombax elipticum is a tree that can reach in height and 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 (0.1 mm) that germinate within approximately 30 days.
The flowers are cotton candy pink. featuring several hundred stamens up to long. 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.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.
Cultivation The tree is grown as an ornamental tree in Florida, Hawaii, and coastal Southern California.
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