The famous Cotton Tree of Freetown

The famous Cotton Tree of Freetown serves as a symbol for the whole nation of Sierra Leone. Cotton tree (Ceiba pentandra) grows both in tropical America and tropical Africa. It is not entirely clear where the tree appeared naturally and where it was brought by people – but it is possible that ceiba originally grew in Western Africa and could be brought elsewhere by ocean streams. Or vice verse… by streams from America to Africa. Who knows? Ceiba (kapok, cotton tree) grows up to 77 m tall (unchecked height of one tree in Costa Rica) and has impressive buttresses characteristic for rainforest trees. Trunk above the buttresses often exceeds diameter of 3 m.