''Ceiba pentandra'' is a tropical tree of the order

Malvales The Malvales are an Order (biology), order of flowering plants. As circumscribed by Angiosperm Phylogeny Group, APG II-system, the order includes about 6000 species within nine Family (biology), families. The order is placed in the eurosids II, w ...

and the

family Family (from ) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). It forms the basis for social order. Ideally, families offer predictabili ...

Malvaceae Malvaceae (), or the mallows, is a family of flowering plants estimated to contain 244 genera with 4225 known species. Well-known members of economic importance include Theobroma cacao, cacao, Cola (plant), cola, cotton, okra, Hibiscus sabdariffa, ...

(previously emplaced in the family Bombacaceae), native to Mexico, Central America and the Caribbean, northern South America, and (as the variety ''C. pentandra'' var ''guineensis'') West Africa. A somewhat smaller variety has been introduced to

South South is one of the cardinal directions or compass points. The direction is the opposite of north and is perpendicular to both west and east. Etymology The word ''south'' comes from Old English ''sūþ'', from earlier Proto-Germanic ''*sunþa ...

and

Southeast Asia Southeast Asia is the geographical United Nations geoscheme for Asia#South-eastern Asia, southeastern region of Asia, consisting of the regions that are situated south of China, east of the Indian subcontinent, and northwest of the Mainland Au ...

, where it is cultivated. The tree and the cotton-like fluff obtained from its seed pods are commonly known in English as kapok, a Malay-derived name which originally applied to ''

Bombax ceiba ''Bombax ceiba'', like other trees of the genus ''Bombax'', is commonly known as cotton tree. More specifically, it is sometimes known as Malabar silk-cotton tree; red silk-cotton; red cotton tree; or ambiguously as silk-cotton or kapok, both of ...

'', a native of tropical Asia. In Spanish-speaking countries the tree is commonly known as "

ceiba ''Ceiba'' is a genus of trees in the family Malvaceae, native to Tropics, tropical and Subtropics, subtropical areas of the Americas (from Mexico and the Caribbean to northern Argentina) and tropical West Africa. Some species can grow to tall ...

" and in French-speaking countries as fromager. The tree is cultivated for its

cotton Cotton (), first recorded in ancient India, is a soft, fluffy staple fiber that grows in a boll, or protective case, around the seeds of the cotton plants of the genus '' Gossypium'' in the mallow family Malvaceae. The fiber is almost pure ...

like seed fibre, particularly in south-east Asia, and is also known as the

Java Java is one of the Greater Sunda Islands in Indonesia. It is bordered by the Indian Ocean to the south and the Java Sea (a part of Pacific Ocean) to the north. With a population of 156.9 million people (including Madura) in mid 2024, proje ...

cotton, Java kapok, silk-cotton or samauma.

Characteristics

The tree grows up to tall as confirmed by climbing and tape drop with reports of Kapoks up to tall. These very large trees are in the

Neotropics The Neotropical realm is one of the eight biogeographic realms constituting Earth's land surface. Physically, it includes the tropical terrestrial ecoregions of the Americas and the entire South American temperate zone. Definition In biogeog ...

or tropical

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent after Asia. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 20% of Earth's land area and 6% of its total surfac ...

. The Southeast Asian form of ''C. pentandra'' only reaches . Trunks can often be up to in diameter above the extensive buttress roots. The very largest individuals, however, can be thick or more above the buttresses. The buttress roots can be clearly seen in photographs extending up the trunk of some specimens and extending out from the trunk as much as and then continuing below ground to a total length of The trunk and many of the larger branches are often crowded with large simple thorns. These major branches, usually 4 to 6 in number, can be up to thick and form a crown of foliage as much as in width. The palmate

leaves A leaf (: leaves) is a principal appendage of the stem of a vascular plant, usually borne laterally above ground and specialized for photosynthesis. Leaves are collectively called foliage, as in "autumn foliage", while the leaves, stem, ...

are composed of 5 to 9 leaflets, each up to long. The tree is briefly

deciduous In the fields of horticulture and botany, the term deciduous () means "falling off at maturity" and "tending to fall off", in reference to trees and shrubs that seasonally shed Leaf, leaves, usually in the autumn; to the shedding of petals, aft ...

, and it is during this leafless period that it blooms with umbels of large flowers ranging from creme de menthe to red in color. After blooming, the trees produce several hundred pods containing seeds surrounded by a fluffy, yellowish fibre that is a mix of

lignin Lignin is a class of complex organic polymers that form key structural materials in the support tissues of most plants. Lignins are particularly important in the formation of cell walls, especially in wood and bark, because they lend rigidit ...

and

cellulose Cellulose is an organic compound with the chemical formula, formula , a polysaccharide consisting of a linear chain of several hundred to many thousands of glycosidic bond, β(1→4) linked glucose, D-glucose units. Cellulose is an important s ...

. The referenced reports make it clear that ''C. pentandra'' is among the largest trees in the world.

Uses

The commercial tree is most heavily cultivated in the rainforests of Asia, notably in

(hence one of its common names), the Philippines, Malaysia, and Hainan Island in China, as well as in South America. The flowers are an important source of

nectar Nectar is a viscous, sugar-rich liquid produced by Plant, plants in glands called nectaries, either within the flowers with which it attracts pollination, pollinating animals, or by extrafloral nectaries, which provide a nutrient source to an ...

and

pollen Pollen is a powdery substance produced by most types of flowers of seed plants for the purpose of sexual reproduction. It consists of pollen grains (highly reduced Gametophyte#Heterospory, microgametophytes), which produce male gametes (sperm ...

for

honey bee A honey bee (also spelled honeybee) is a eusocial flying insect within the genus ''Apis'' of the bee clade, all native to mainland Afro-Eurasia. After bees spread naturally throughout Africa and Eurasia, humans became responsible for the ...

s and

bats Bats are flying mammals of the order Chiroptera (). With their forelimbs adapted as wings, they are the only mammals capable of true and sustained flight. Bats are more agile in flight than most birds, flying with their very long spread-out ...

. Bats are the primary pollinators of the night-blooming flowers.

Kapok Fibre

Native tribes along the Amazon River harvest the fibre to wrap around their blowgun darts. The fibres create a seal that allows the pressure to force the dart through the tube. The fiber is light, very buoyant, resilient, resistant to water, but very flammable. The process of harvesting and separating the fiber is labor-intensive and menial. It is difficult to spin, but is used as an alternative to down as filling in mattresses, pillows, upholstery, zafus, and stuffed toys such as teddy bears, and for insulation. It was previously popularly used in life jackets and similar devices - until synthetic materials largely replaced the fiber.

Traditional medicinal uses

''Ceiba pentandra'' bark decoction has been used as a

diuretic A diuretic () is any substance that promotes diuresis, the increased production of urine. This includes forced diuresis. A diuretic tablet is sometimes colloquially called a water tablet. There are several categories of diuretics. All diuretics ...

, as an

aphrodisiac An aphrodisiac is a substance that increases libido, sexual desire, sexual attraction, sexual pleasure, or sexual behavior. These substances range from a variety of plants, spices, and foods to synthetic chemicals. Natural aphrodisiacs, such as ...

, and to treat headache, as well as

type II diabetes Type 2 diabetes (T2D), formerly known as adult-onset diabetes, is a form of diabetes mellitus that is characterized by high blood sugar, insulin resistance, and relative lack of insulin. Common symptoms include increased thirst, frequent ...

. It is used as an additive in some versions of the psychedelic drink Ayahuasca.

Seed oil

vegetable oil Vegetable oils, or vegetable fats, are oils extracted from seeds or from other parts of edible plants. Like animal fats, vegetable fats are ''mixtures'' of triglycerides. Soybean oil, grape seed oil, and cocoa butter are examples of seed ...

can be pressed from the seeds. The oil has a yellow colour and a pleasant, mild odour and taste, resembling cottonseed oil. It becomes rancid quickly when exposed to air. Kapok oil is produced in India, Indonesia and Malaysia. It has an iodine value of 85–100; this makes it a nondrying oil, which means that it does not dry out significantly when exposed to air. The oil has some potential as a

biofuel Biofuel is a fuel that is produced over a short time span from Biomass (energy), biomass, rather than by the very slow natural processes involved in the formation of fossil fuels such as oil. Biofuel can be produced from plants or from agricu ...

and in paint preparation.

Religion and folklore

The tree is a sacred symbol in Maya mythology. The Ceiba is an important tree in Cuban culture. It is a sacred tree in Palo, Arará and

Santería Santería (), also known as Regla de Ocha, Regla Lucumí, or Lucumí, is an African diaspora religions, Afro-Caribbean religion that developed in Cuba during the late 19th century. It arose amid a process of syncretism between the traditional ...

. Following from its religious connection to the Orishas of Santería, many rituals and customs surround the tree: offerings are placed or buried near the trunks, the trees are circumambulated, and the trees are generally not tampered with out of respect. Unrelated to Santería, the ceiba also features in folklore, and is associated with güijes. According to the folklore of Trinidad and Tobago, the Castle of the Devil is a huge ''C. pentandra'' growing deep in the forest in which Bazil, the demon of death, was imprisoned by a carpenter. The carpenter tricked the devil into entering the tree in which he carved seven rooms, one above the other, into the trunk. Folklore claims that Bazil still resides in that tree. Most masks from Burkina Faso, especially those of Bobo and Mossi people, are carved from ''C. pentandra'' timber. ''C. pentandra'' is known as the Kankantrie/Kankantri among the

Afro-Surinamese Afro-Surinamese are the inhabitants of Suriname of mostly West African and Central African ancestry. They are descended from enslaved Africans brought to work on sugar plantations. Many of them escaped the plantations and formed independent sett ...

community, particularly those that subscribe to the Winti religion. The important role of the Kankantrie among the Afro-Surinamese as a holy residence for spirits has been documented for centuries. Despite the efforts of the Dutch to convert African slaves in Suriname to Christianity, many black Surinamese people continue to hold the tree in high regard. Cutting the tree is avoided even in modern-day

Suriname Suriname, officially the Republic of Suriname, is a country in northern South America, also considered as part of the Caribbean and the West Indies. It is a developing country with a Human Development Index, high level of human development; i ...

, and often paired with a ritual in cases where cutting the tree is unavoidable.

Symbolism

''Ceiba pentandra'' is the national emblem of Guatemala, Puerto Rico, and

Equatorial Guinea Equatorial Guinea, officially the Republic of Equatorial Guinea, is a country on the west coast of Central Africa. It has an area of . Formerly the colony of Spanish Guinea, its post-independence name refers to its location both near the Equ ...

. It appears on the

coat of arms A coat of arms is a heraldry, heraldic communication design, visual design on an escutcheon (heraldry), escutcheon (i.e., shield), surcoat, or tabard (the last two being outer garments), originating in Europe. The coat of arms on an escutcheon f ...

and flag of Equatorial Guinea. The Cotton Tree was a landmark in downtown

Freetown Freetown () is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Sierra Leone. It is a major port city on the Atlantic Ocean and is located in the Western Area of the country. Freetown is Sierra Leone's major urban, economic, financial, cultural, e ...

, Sierra Leone, and is considered a symbol of freedom for the former slaves that immigrated there. The 70-metre-tall trunk snapped near the base, and fell in a storm on 24 May 2023. Saigon, the former name of

Ho Chi Minh City Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC) ('','' TP.HCM; ), commonly known as Saigon (; ), is the most populous city in Vietnam with a population of around 14 million in 2025. The city's geography is defined by rivers and canals, of which the largest is Saigo ...

, may be derived from ''Sài'' ( Sino-Vietnamese "palisade" etc.) and the Vietnamese name for the Kapok tree ''(bông) gòn'', although, in this instance, the tree intended to be named may well be, not the

New World The term "New World" is used to describe the majority of lands of Earth's Western Hemisphere, particularly the Americas, and sometimes Oceania."America." ''The Oxford Companion to the English Language'' (). McArthur, Tom, ed., 1992. New York: ...

''Ceiba pentandra'', but the

Old World The "Old World" () is a term for Afro-Eurasia coined by Europeans after 1493, when they became aware of the existence of the Americas. It is used to contrast the continents of Africa, Europe, and Asia in the Eastern Hemisphere, previously ...

''.

Gallery

File:Ceiba pentandra Blanco2.238-cropped.jpg, ''Ceiba pentranda'' File:Ceiba pentandra L. Gaertn.jpg, Canopy File:Ceiba pentandra (L.) Gaertn. (9327946214).jpg, Underside of single leaf File:Ceiba pentandra 0011.jpg, Thorny buttress roots and trunk base File:Kapok flowers I IMG 2377.jpg, Flowers in profile File:Kapok Fruit I IMG 3839.jpg, Fruit close-up File:Kapok-Ceiba pentandra 03.JPG, Twigs laden with dehiscent fruit showing kapok File:Ceiba pentandra - Jardim Botânico da Madeira 02.jpg, Single dehiscent fruit revealing kapok-surrounded seeds File:Ceiba pentandra fruit in hg.jpg, Dehisced fruit having shed shrivelled valves

References

External links

Kapok Fibers

Seed Fibers

Germplasm Resources Information Network: ''Ceiba pentandra''

Ceiba pentandra
in Brunken, U., Schmidt, M., Dressler, S., Janssen, T., Thombiano, A. & Zizka, G. 2008. West African plants – A Photo Guide. Forschungsinstitut Senckenberg, Frankfurt/Main. {{Authority control pentandra Crops originating from the Americas Fiber plants National symbols of Equatorial Guinea National symbols of Guatemala National symbols of Puerto Rico Plants described in 1791 Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus Trees of Africa Trees of Northern America Trees of South America