[3][4][5] Cochlospermum fraseri is a deciduous shrub or small tree which can grow to 7 m tall.

The seeds are surrounded by fluffy, "cottony" threads, giving rise to the common name kapok tree.

[5][4][6][7] French botanist Jules Émile Planchon described this species in 1847 from Melville Island off the north coast of Australia.

[5] It is found in the bioregions of Central Kimberley, Dampierland, Gulf Fall and Uplands, Northern Kimberley, Ord Victoria Plain, Pine Creek, Victoria Bonaparte in the Northern Territory.,[5] and the bioregions of Central Kimberley, Dampierland, Great Sandy Desert, Northern Kimberley, Ord Victoria Plain, Victoria Bonaparte in Western Australia.

[5] The indigenous people of northern Australia would eat the flowers, either raw or cooked, and the roots of young plants.