This is not a Hibiscus tree!

At first I thought it was, even though it had no leaves, so rushed over from the coffee shop to blip it before the rain started up again. I whipped out the camera then I stopped dead in my tracks. " Argh, what happened to its trunk?" This is a Prickly Tree (Chorisia (Ceiba) speciosa) apparently, and its seed pods produce the soft, fluffy kapok that was used for stuffing furniture in the days of natural products. This tree is actually a native of South America but this one has been in this square in Kas for a long time as they don't start producing flowers for at least 30 years. Click here to see why I thought it was a hibiscus.