NHD52/11

Red silk-cotton tree

Bombax ceiba L.; Malvaceae family

Original inscriptions: 木棉 (front lower right in ink); 四月開 (reverse lower left in ink); Moue-mien (reverse lower right in pencil)

Further inscriptions: H. Sh. (front lower left in ink); Bombax sp. (front lower center in pencil)

Flowering branch of a red silk-cotton tree (also known as kapok) showing a thick, corrugate light brown wood branch with four terminal red flowers. The left flower front facing showing a tight cluster of pink and yellow stamens, forming two circles in the middle of the flower, with a pink style and stigma sprouting from the center, longer in length than the stamens. One closed flower bud with green sepals and pink apex. Each individual part of the flower is depicted along the bottom of the page: five individually laid out red petals showing vertical parallel veins, stamens with white to pink filaments and yellow anthers, pink pistil and sepals on pedicel in green. Middle left: depiction of a fruit: oblong shape with ridged and corrugate dark green skin, end dissected. Illustration of internal white fleshy part and seed arrangement, seeds white and round.