exposures,
extended dry seasons or a combination of these factors. Barrigón
is an especially memorable tree species thanks to a number of
unusual and intriguing characteristics such as its barrel-shaped,
green-striped bole; its huge, thousand-stamen flowers; and its
few, highly-angled, stout limbs. This species is a close relative
of the pantropically distributed Ceiba or Kapok tree (Ceiba pentandra),
with which it shares many attributes. Description: Barrigón's trunk (1 m), though circular in cross-section and mostly straight, often shows some angular bending as it rises up to the forest canopy. The bole is periodically noded with prominent scars that mark where old limbs were once attached. About a meter above the ground, most Barrigón trunks sport a noticeable swelling - they have greater diameters at this height than either above or below it. The pot-bellied appearance this creates has been immortalized in the Spanish common name for this species: "Ceibo Barrigón" - or "big-bellied Ceiba". From a distance, the smooth, glossy bark appears light gray but closer inspection resolves it into a complex and striking pattern of wide, parallel, and somewhat wavy, green and gray stripes. Branches are few in number and they are usually restricted to the upper portion of the bole. There, the thick (though short) limbs emerge nearly horizontally and extend outward, while subdividing minimally into relatively few, fat and stubby twigs. Barrigón's irregularly shaped crown is therefore very thin and open. Leaves are large (30 cm by 20 cm), palmately compound, and alternate. Composed of seven elliptical to oblanceolate leaflets (14 cm by 7 cm) with short drip tips, they are supported by a long petiole (20 cm). Foliage begins senescing late in the year and it is slowly and completely shed during December - the beginning of the dry season. New leaves do not appear until May, when the rains have resumed. Coinciding with leaf loss is the appearance of flower buds high in the crown. Each of these structures possesses a cup-shaped green calyx and five dark brown, interwoven petals that form a dome-like cover over the flower interior. When open, the large and unusual Barrigón blossom is dominated by a staminal ring composed of over a thousand, long (6 cm) white stamens and formed into a stringy globe. The fleshy petals, curled back over the calyx, are also white, as is the thick, central pistil. Opening in the early evening, blossoms are spent by the following morning when the petals and stamen clusters are shed (and can be found on the ground). Flowering occurs from January through April but with most intensity during February. Fruits develop rapidly into large (10-15 cm), ellipsiod, dehiscent, woody capsules. Their smooth, glossy exteriors are green, though mottled with brownish striping. Vertically oriented, the large pendulous pods slowly accumulate among the bare branches of the dry season Barrigón crown. Inside them, many brown, thin-coated, spherical seeds (0.5 cm) are wrapped in buff-colored, cottony fibers. After drying in the summer sun, the pod splits into five, wedge-shaped sections that are then shed - leaving the cottony fiber mass clinging to the old pedestal high in the tree. Slowly, breezes tug at the seeds and dislodge them - each with its own cottony parachute - and they drift slowly to the ground while being nudged laterally by the wind. Harvests last from March through May. Seeds germinate with the first consistent and drenching rains of May and June. Sometimes seen dotting the ground near the parent tree, the young seedlings are easily recognized by their spade-shaped (still simple) leaves.
