Tree 6-20 m. tall, the trunk spindle-shaped, ca. 80 cm. in diam. at the base and 1.40 m. in diam. at the largest portion, the crown rounded, the branches more or less horizontal, the bark grayish with longitudinal, greenish furrows, glabrous and rimose, the branchlets whitish-pruinose. Leaves 5-to 9-foliolate, the petiole thick, slightly enlarged at the base, 8.5-34(-68) cm. long, the leaflets sessile to shortly petiolulate, the petiolule 0.4-1.2 cm. long and canaliculate above; blade obovate, elliptic to seldom oblong-elliptic, cuneiform and decurrent at the base, more or less bluntly apiculate at the apex, 5-29 cm. long and 2.6-14 cm. wide, glabrous above, glabrous or sometimes with scattered small lepides beneath, the nerves prominent beneath. Inflorescences cymose, the cymes 3-flowered and unipared, or flowers soli-tary. Flowers 7-10 cm. long, the pedicel 1.8-4(-6) cm. long and 0.3-0.5 cm. in diam., glabrous; receptacle provided with 1 or sometimes 2 whorls of glands, glabrous or sometimes lepidote; calyx cupuliform to cupuliform-campanulate, truncate, 0.8-1.4 cm. long and 1.9-3 cm. wide, generally reddish-lepidote without, silky-tomentellous within; petals linear-lanceolate, subacute, 6.5-9.5 cm. long and 1.8 cm. wide, pinkish to cream-colored, tomentellous outside, pubescent-striate inside; stamens 1,000-1,200, the staminal column 0.8-1.8 cm. long and 0.6-1.2 cm. in diam., glabrous at the base, elsewhere shortly silky to pubescent, divided into 5 dichotomous phalanges 4.3-6.5 cm. long; anthers ca. 2-2.5 mm. long; ovary conical, conical-oblong to subglobose, 5-angular or terete, 0.4-0.9 cm. long and 0.4-0.7 cm. in diam. at the base, generally papillate; style 6.5-10 cm. long, slightly enlarged at the apex, glabrous; stigma 5-lobulate, the lobes ca. 1 mm. long. Capsule ovoid-fusiform, 5-angular, 12-15 cm. long and 5-7 cm. in diam., sometimes papillate when young, quickly glabrate; seeds broadly pyriform, ca. 0.6 cm. long and 0.5 cm. wvide, dark brown; kapok wvhite-grayish.
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A large tree. It can grow 40 m high. The trunk is swollen at the base and can be 3 m across. It has vertical light green lines along it. The leaves are alternate and compound. They have leaflets arranged like fingers on a hand. The leaflets have short tips. Trees lose their leaves in the dry season. The flowers are large and white. The flowers open at night. The flowers appear before the leaves. The pods are woody capsules 18 cm long. The seeds are small.
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