說明/ 落葉大喬木，樹高約10–25公尺，原產於印度、馬來群島和菲律賓群島，主要分布於熱帶及亞熱帶地區。樹形直立挺拔，樹幹灰褐色，基部密生瘤刺，枝椏水平伸展呈分層次傘形。掌狀複葉，花桔紅色，每年2到4月開花，先開花後長葉，果實如拳頭大，成熟之後裂開，棉絮潔白柔軟，隨風四處飄散。本校行政大樓北側空中走廊兩旁，木棉花季時，滿樹橙紅，常見小群五色鳥於樹梢覓食花蜜。（陸維元攝）
A deciduous tree native to India, the Malay Archipelago, and the Philippines, mostly seen in tropical and subtropical regions, that can grow up to 10-25 m tall. It has a straight tall trunk buttressed at the base, bears numerous conical spines, a grayish bark, and lateral branches spreading out like an umbrella. The leaves are palmately compound. The flowers are red and bloom from February to April, appearing before the leaves. The fruit is the size of a fist and opens up when ripe. The cotton fibres are white and soft and can be seen floating in the wind. During the flowering season, the Cotton Trees on both sides of the sky corridor of the Administrative Building would be covered in orange and red flowers, attracting Taiwan Barbets to feed on the nectar. (Photo courtesy of Lu Wei-yuan)