Cannonball tree,
cannonball tree [Credit: Franz Xaver](Couroupita guianensis), tall, soft-wooded tree, of the family Lecythidaceae, native to northeastern South America and notable for its large, spherical woody fruit, which resembles a rusty cannonball. The tree is also cultivated in the southern regions of North America.
The leaves are oval, oblong, or broadly lance shaped; the leaf margins are smooth or finely toothed. The showy flowers, borne in racemes 60–90 cm (2–3 feet) long, grow straight from the trunk and have concave petals about 5 cm (2 inches) long. They are yellow or red on the outside and crimson or lilac on the inside. The fruit, ... (100 of 137 words)