Pachira aquatica is a tree that knows how to travel. In its native habitat along river estuaries from southern Mexico to northern Brazil, it grows to 60 feet in seasonally flooded ground, producing large cream-petaled flowers with a spectacular burst of 200 or more red-tipped stamens. Each flower lasts exactly one day, and blooms only at night — a brief, extravagant performance in the tropical dark.

In cultivation it scales back gracefully. As a houseplant it stays 6 to 8 feet tall, thriving in indirect light with moist, well-drained soil and tolerating the humidity most tropical plants require. Braided trunks are a cultural convention from Taiwan in the 1980s, rooted in Feng Shui tradition, and while flowering is unlikely indoors, the glossy compound leaves with 5 to 9 leaflets make it a quietly handsome companion year-round. Keep it away from direct sun, which scorches the foliage, and never let it sit in standing water.