Trees of Zihuatanejo

-Achiote Family (Family Bixaceae)

-Genus Cochlospermum

-Buttercup Tree (Cochlospermum vitifolium)

A small tree, usually no more than 23 ft tall, usually with a leaning trunk and irregular branching. Crown is small, irregular, often with few leaves. The leaves are star-shaped, with pointed lobes. Flowers are large, bright yellow, with many yellow or orange stamen, very conspicuous during the December-January flowering period. Many trees are leafless when flowers are produced, but others have some leaves. Fruits are green pods filled with tiny seeds that have light fluff for wind transport. A widespread and common tree of pastures, farms, towns, and roadsides

Description

• Cochlospermum vitifolium, commonly known as buttercup tree or wild cotton, is a deciduous tree in the family Bixaceae. It is recognisable by its large, palmately lobed leaves and spectacular bright yellow flowers, which often appear when the tree has shed most of its foliage. The flowers have numerous prominent stamens, and the fruits are large, rounded capsules containing seeds surrounded by cotton-like fibres.

Range

• Cochlospermum vitifolium is native to tropical America, ranging from Mexico through Central America into northern South America and parts of the Caribbean. It is native to Zihuatanejo, Guerrero, and the surrounding area.

Habitat

• It grows in tropical dry forests, open woodland, scrub, and seasonally dry slopes. It thrives in warm, sunny locations and is well adapted to seasonal drought, often flowering conspicuously during the dry season.