Shenzhen in Bloom: Flaming kapok flowers light up the sky

Editor’s note:

Spring is in full swing, which is great news for flower lovers. From adorable trumpet-shaped flowers to delicate cherry blossoms to undulating yellow rapeseed flower carpets, flowering plants adorn Shenzhen all year around, but more prominently in this season. It’s not difficult to find a small sea of flowers in this city with 1,260 parks, and these colorful buds are even ubiquitous along busy streets amid all their hustle and bustle. This series, “Shenzhen in Bloom,” will give a glimpse of these picturesque places to celebrate abundance as well as beauty in the natural world of Shenzhen.

Kapok trees (Bombax ceiba), which usually bloom between February and April, is one of the major attractions in South China at this time of the year. There are many places across Shenzhen to admire kapok flowers, not least those lining the streets we pass by every day. It is visibly evident this week as hundreds of kapok trees are now in full flower all over the city, becoming showy with their vibrant hue and delicate petals, although high above.

Kapok trees typically grow 6 to 9 meters tall, but can reach up to 25 meters in the right conditions. Their large, five-petaled, red to orange-red lily-like flowers appear when the trees are completely void of leaves, and new leaves won't appear until the flowers fall.

Even the fallen flowers are wooed. Some residents like to arrange the crimson flowers into shapes or Chinese characters on the green lawn, while some residents like to pick up the fallen flowers and preserve them before using them as seasonings in soups, believing the ingredient to be good for the health of those living in hot and humid places.

Sometime after the flowers fall, the trees produce a woody fruit filled with silky floss that is historically used to make clothes and fill pillows.

The kapok flower is called the hero flower because the flowers are red, and the tree trunk and branches are very strong. It presents a heroic posture at any time. The tree and its flowers are mentioned and praised in many ancient and modern Chinese poems. The kapok flower is also the floral emblem of cities like Guangzhou in Guangdong and Panzhihua in Sichuan.

Kapok trees are now in full flower across Shenzhen. Photos by Liu Xudong, Lin Lin and some file photos