Common Name: Yellow Kapok 

Botanical Name: Cochlospermum fraseri

A small, slender tree growing up to 6m high. Being deciduous, is easily spotted by its showy, yellow flowers in May – October. The woody, oblong fruit opens when ripe to reveal a mass of cotton fibre. Found in open woodland as an understory tree.  

Aboriginal Uses 

The yellow, buttery flowers are eaten raw or cooked. The roots of young plants can be eaten. Cotton is used for ceremonial body decoration and the bark is used for string and paint brushes. 

Interesting Facts

The flowering of the kapok is an indicator that it is time to hunt for waterlily rhizomes. When the fruits burst open, it is a good time for hunting the long-neck turtle. 

This is the hottest and driest time of the year and the landscape is looking parched and barren. Once the seed falls, it sits in wait for the promise of the coming rains.

He will also send you rain for the seed you sow in the ground, and the food that comes from the land will be rich and plentiful. In that day your cattle will graze in broad meadows.
- Isaiah 30:23