Are those thorns on the trunk? It looks like a Silk Floss tree to me.
Are those thorns on the trunk?
Yep -- the trunk looked like nothing but thorns.
I'd never heard of a silk floss tree but based on the images I found online, it sure looks like one. Thanks!
Not a river birch?
Except for reasons beyond my understanding, I can never remember that it's Floss silk tree, rather than Silk floss tree. Since I practically grew up in our local arboretum, it's a huge source of shame for me (nevermind I always have to look up the botanical name!) 
Hmm, I know this... I might have to put in a call to my dad, but we had these in Florida, and I've seen them in Cuba and Yucatan. It might be the silk floss, but we called them something else. One question though... was the bark shiny? Kind of metallic-y? Or flat and normal bark-y?
I had to laugh my ass off looking at the thread and the Dzibilchaltun museum.
I am not a native Texan (thank god!), and have lived here for 7 years, and I know that you live down south in the Hill country, and they have foreign sounding named towns and places and such, germans/messicans and the mix thereof, and thought that this Dzibilchaltun museum must be down there some where near Fredricksburg or someone near there. So I click on the hyperlink and pull my heels off, it aint even in these here United States of America, home of the free range cows.
As far as the tree, does it turn well? I make bowls, and if it turns well, then I am interested. Otherwise I just get out some honey locust and get to chip flying.
Great pic! Well, treehuggers would certainly twice with this guy, eh?
Te trunk is rather awesome, sort of like a boojum- but boojums don't grow in TX, do they?
I agree with the identification. Mr. Gaia calls it Kapok, but it's the same tree. They're quite common in the valley.
Commenting by HaloScan
