When do kapok flowers bloom?
Introduction: This article shares the blooming time of kapok flowers and content about the season of kapok flowers, which is sure to be helpful to you. Let's learn more together!
Image source: Internet
One day in the lunar month of December in the year of the ox, Mr. Yang Yanbin sent a WeChat message saying, "Kapok flowers are beautiful and can dye half a mountain red. I once stayed in Sanya for half a year, but regretfully, I didn't write about it. You have time to write about it and share it with everyone." I have always remembered Mr. Yang's request.
Now, kapok flowers have bloomed from south to north one after another, and it's time for me to complete the task entrusted to me by Mr. Yang. But I am笨拙 and clumsy, and I'm afraid I can't fulfill Mr. Yang's ideals or meet the expectations of readers.
Kapok trees, also known as攀枝花, red cotton, or red jasmine, belong to the kapok family and the kapok genus. They are tropical and subtropical deciduous large trees, usually 10-20 meters tall, and can reach up to 25 meters. They are distributed in countries such as China, India, Sri Lanka, and Malaysia, and are commonly cultivated in provinces and regions such as Hainan, Guangdong, Guangxi, Fujian, Yunnan, and Taiwan. They are the city flowers of cities like Guangzhou, Panzhihua, Chaozhou, and Kaohsiung.
Kapok trees bloom before they grow leaves, and the flowers grow singly on the top of branches. They enter full bloom in early spring, February and March. The blooming time in the southern part of Hainan is earlier, and there is a saying in the South China region, "When kapok flowers bloom, winter is over." Kapok flowers are usually red, sometimes orange, and when they bloom, the whole tree is orange-red, full of vitality and spectacular. The famous Lingnan poet Wang Bangji from the Ming Dynasty wrote a poem "Ode to Kapok Flowers" that vividly describes them:
The wonderful flowers bloom halfway in the sky, The clouds and rosy glow reflect red. They are naturally the cassia seeds of the moon palace,移植 to the east gate of the sea by Chang'e.
Kapok trees are tall and sturdy, and kapok flowers are passionate and unrestrained, symbolizing heroes, the object of admiration, and the expression of love. The flower language is to cherish the people around you, and cherish the happiness and beauty in front of you.
Currently, over 200 species of kapok trees have been discovered, but more than 50% are abnormal kapok trees that only bloom and do not bear fruit, which can only be used as landscape trees for greening. Long-fruit kapok flowers produce elliptical fruits 10-15 centimeters long, and after the fruits mature in summer, the pods split open, and the cotton fluff is scattered by the wind, resembling snow in June. The black seeds wrapped in cotton balls germinate and take root when they encounter moist soil. They thrive in hot and humid conditions and can tolerate low temperatures, and can survive on sunny slopes of mountains and roadsides.
Kapok trees have a wide range of uses and good economic value. Their wood is soft and is a good material for making wooden boats, buckets, basins, packing cases, and matchsticks. The cotton yield from mature pods can reach 20%. In the southern regions that do not produce cotton, people have collected cotton fluff as a substitute for cotton since ancient times, using it to fill quilts, cotton-padded clothing, and pillows, and it can also be spun into yarn, woven into blankets, and织布. Currently, kapok textile techniques are still preserved and passed down in some Li ethnic areas in Hainan.
Kapok trees can be harvested for flowers in spring, bark in summer and autumn, and roots in spring and autumn. The roots, bark, and flowers can all be used as medicine. The flowers are effective in treating dysentery, enteritis, and stomach pain. The roots can expel wind and dampness, disperse knots, relieve pain, and treat fractures and contusions. The bark has tonic and health benefits and can also be used to treat dysentery and excessive menstrual bleeding. The flowers can also be made into many delicious dishes, and they are especially popular for making soups and porridge.
Kapok fluff has a low ignition point and can easily cause fires. The floating fluff can block vision, adhere to car parts, and affect driving safety. Like the willow catkins in the north, they often fly into pedestrians' eyes and nostrils, causing skin allergies, rashes, peeling, redness, and itching, and in severe cases, can trigger asthma and chronic bronchitis. In recent years, some cities have taken measures to control the fluff by removing the pods, spraying with pesticides and water, and modifying the trees, which have achieved some results.
Affected by the strong cold air from the south, yesterday's Shenzhou Peninsula was hit by strong winds and heavy rain, and the temperature dropped by 14 degrees, with only 11 degrees at night. It made me put on the winter clothes I wore in the north, and other parts of Hainan were also complaining about the cold. In recent days, the weather forecast has issued consecutive "gale and cold" warnings, saying it is the lowest temperature in the past 20 years. It does feel that way.
The rainy season is over, and the kapok flowers are all in full bloom, but the sudden cold weather is puzzling to both Hainan people and me, an old man who spends the winter indoors.
The above information about the blooming time of kapok flowers and the sharing of the kapok flowering season introduced to you is hoped to be helpful. Don't forget to visit more often to learn about more flower cultivation experience and common knowledge!