“Palo borracho", the drunken tree

Do you know that tree in the lead photo, that I repeat here with more context?

That’s Ceiba speciosa, a tree native to South America. In Argentina, we call it “Palo borracho", which literally means “drunken trunk". This nickname is due to the shape of its main stem when it saves water. See these two specimens paying attention to the base of the main trunk:

Stunning flowers

Palo borracho blooms beautifully. Look!

And here a tree with flowers of a different color:

A tree hard to climb

And it’s very hard to climb because the trunk and branches of these trees are covered with thick, pointy spines:

All these shots were taken along the coast of the Paraná river in Rosario, Argentina, soon after my self-quarantine when I arrived in the country for a month off. It’s a huge river with multiple streams, some so deep that even open sea ships can go in!

If you liked this story about a tree that represents the local flora, don’t miss this ode to the Jacarandá, a tree that blooms during spring:

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