Pretty in pink

Pink flowers of the floss-silk tree are the autumnal corollary of spring's lavender jacaranda blooms that color Los Angeles streets. Tim McGarry at Angels and Vagabonds blogs an appreciation, along with some info on Chorisia speciosa: "The trunks are unusual – they have thorns. The fruit, which appears along with the flowers, resemble avocados. Inside, seeds come wrapped in dense masses of silky hairs – the better, apparently, for dispersal in the wind. The fibers make poor thread, but they are waxy and waterproof. In World War II, they were widely used as stuffing for government-issue life jackets. Chorisia has some interesting family relationships. As a member of the Bombacaceae (or “cotton-tree”) family, Chorisia is related to baobab and kapok trees. It is also cousin to the trees that serve as the source of balsa wood, as well as to the trees that produce that odiferous Asian favorite, the durian fruit." More at Tim's blog.