About Ceiba aesculifolia (Kunth) Britten & Baker fil.
Ceiba aesculifolia can grow up to 30 meters (98 feet) tall, with a trunk densely covered in thorns. Its leaves are composed of 5 to 7 leaflets. Leaflets vary in shape from obovate to oblong-elliptic, and measure between 3 and 10 centimeters long, and 1 to 4 centimeters wide. Leaflets can be acuminate at the tip, cuneate at the base, serrated at least toward the apex, and are either glabrous or densely pubescent. Flowers grow either solitary in the axils of fallen leaves or in loose groups toward branch apices. They are whitish, turning brown on the inside. The calyx is irregular and slightly lobed, measuring 1.5 to 3 centimeters (0.59 to 1.18 inches) long. Petals are 8 to 16 centimeters (3.1 to 6.3 inches) long, with dense yellowish-brown pubescence on the outer surface. Filaments form a narrow, pubescent column approximately 1.5 to 2 centimeters (0.59 to 0.79 inches) long. Fruits range from 12 to 15 centimeters (4.7 to 5.9 inches) long, and can reach up to 8 centimeters (3.1 inches) wide. Ceiba aesculifolia occurs from Mexico to Costa Rica, growing in low dry deciduous forests in the north-central and Pacific zones, at altitudes between 20 and 850 meters (66 to 2,789 feet). It flowers from January to April, and produces fruits from May to June.
