Kapok tree

She says, Kapoks of this size usually inhabit the rain forest, but I found this one on a private estate in Florida. I first saw a picture of it in a book from the 1940s, with a caption locating it in Palm Beach. Comparing the current tree with that old photo, I could see that the trunk had filled out tremendously in 60 years; the roots now rise more than 12 feet above the ground. (The bench on the left provides a sense of scale.)