Full sun-part shade; regular water. Deciduous tree that can reach 30ft or more. It has a swollen smooth green trunk, often with a tortoise shell pattern and fissured with gray bark, short thick succulent stems and large palmately compound leaves with five elliptical rounded dark-green leaflets. In the spring, when the tree is still bare of leaves appear the long greenish black upright buds that open with green sepals pealing back and reflexing downwards to expose beautiful 5in. long pink stamens and looking very much like a shaving brush. The flowers are followed by 6in. long fruit which contains fine white hairs.