Hanoi in cotton tree flower season

March is the time for the flowers of cotton trees (bombax ceiba) to blossom in the villages around Hanoi.
This tropical tree, called cây gạo by Vietnamese, has a straight, tall trunk and drops its leaves in winter. Red flowers with 5 petals appear in the spring before the new foliage. It produces a capsule which, when ripe, contains white fibres like cotton.
Cotton trees are very popular in rural villages in North Vietnam. Just as the flowers of the poinciana, or flamboyant tree (cây phượng vì), signal the arrival of summer and school exams, the cotton tree flowers symbolize rural lovers.
VNExpress captures cotton trees in bloom in Hanoi’s suburbs.