Ceiba pentandra

Ceiba pentandra is a tropical tree of the order Malvales and the family Malvaceae (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 and Southeast Asia, 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, a native of tropical Asia.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> In Spanish-speaking countries the tree is commonly known as "ceiba" and in French-speaking countries as fromager. The tree is cultivated for its cottonlike seed fibre, particularly in south-east Asia, and is also known as the Java cotton, Java kapok, silk-cotton or samauma.

Characteristics

File:Ceiba pentranda (17161121825).jpg

Base of giant specimen in eastern Ecuador

The tree grows up to Template:Cvt tall as confirmed by climbing and tape drop<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> with reports of Kapoks up to Template:Convert tall.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> These very large trees are in the Neotropics or tropical Africa. The Southeast Asian form of C. pentandra only reaches Template:Convert.<ref>Prof. E.J.H. Corner, Wayside Trees of Malaya Volume 1 p. 436</ref> Trunks can often be up to Template:Cvt in diameter above the extensive buttress roots. The very largest individuals, however, can be Template:Cvt thick or more above the buttresses.<ref>David G. Campbell, LAND OF GHOSTS (Boston: Houghton-Mifflin, 2005) p. 129.</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

The buttress roots can be clearly seen in photographs extending Template:Cvt up the trunk of some specimens<ref>Dr. Al C. Carder, FOREST GIANTS OF THE WORLD (Markham, Ontario: Fitzhenry and Whiteside, 1995) p. 145 (Photo plate 123 with caption).</ref> and extending out from the trunk as much as Template:Cvt and then continuing below ground to a total length of Template:Cvt<ref>Peter A. Furley D. Phil. and Walter W. Newey Ph.D., GEOGRAPHY OF THE BIOSPHERE (London: Butterworth, 1983) p. 279.</ref><ref>Michael Bright et al, 1000 WONDERS OF NATURE (London: Reader's Digest Assoc., 2001) p. 332.</ref>

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 Template:Cvt thick<ref>Linda Gamlin and Anuschka de Rohan, MYSTERIES OF THE RAINFOREST (Pleasantville, N.Y.: Reader's Digest Assoc., 1998) p. 79.</ref><ref>Ivan T. Sanderson and David Loth, IVAN T. SANDERSON'S BOOK OF GREAT JUNGLES (New York: Simon and Schuster, 1965) p. 78.</ref> and form a crown of foliage as much as Template:Cvt in width.<ref>Dr. Al C. Carder, GIANT TREES OF WESTERN AMERICA AND THE WORLD (Madeira Park, British Columbia: Harbour Publishing, 2005) p. 129. Measured by Prof. Robert van Pelt in 2003.</ref> The palmate leaves are composed of 5 to 9 leaflets, each up to Template:Cvt long.

The tree is briefly deciduous, and it is during this leafless period that it blooms with umbels of large flowers ranging from creme de menthe to red in color.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> After blooming, the trees produce several hundred Template:Cvt pods containing seeds surrounded by a fluffy, yellowish fibre that is a mix of lignin and cellulose.

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

Uses

{{ safesubst:#invoke:Unsubst||date=__DATE__ |$B= {{ safesubst:#invoke:Unsubst||date=__DATE__ |$B= Template:Ambox }} }} The commercial tree is most heavily cultivated in the rainforests of Asia, notably in Java (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 and pollen for honey bees and bats.

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.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Traditional medicinal uses

{{ safesubst:#invoke:Unsubst||date=__DATE__ |$B= {{ safesubst:#invoke:Unsubst||date=__DATE__ |$B= Template:Ambox }} }} Ceiba pentandra bark decoction has been used as a diuretic, as an aphrodisiac, and to treat headache, as well as type II diabetes. It is used as an additive in some versions of the psychedelic drink Ayahuasca.Template:Citation needed

Seed oil

A vegetable oil can be pressed from the seeds. The oil has a yellow colour and a pleasant, mild odour and taste,<ref name="Kapok">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> 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.<ref name="Kapok"/> The oil has some potential as a biofuel and in paint preparation.

Religion and folklore

The tree is a sacred symbol in Maya mythology.<ref name="Hellmuth">Template:Cite journal</ref>

The Ceiba is an important tree in Cuban culture. It is a sacred tree in Palo, Arará and Santería.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref><ref>Template:Cite book</ref> 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.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> 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.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

Most masks from Burkina Faso, especially those of Bobo and Mossi people, are carved from C. pentandra timber.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>

C. pentandra is known as the Kankantrie/Kankantri among the Afro-Surinamese 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.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Cutting the tree is avoided even in modern-day Suriname, and often paired with a ritual in cases where cutting the tree is unavoidable.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Symbolism

Ceiba pentandra is the national emblem of Guatemala,<ref name="Hellmuth"/> Puerto Rico,<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> and Equatorial Guinea. It appears on the coat of arms and flag of Equatorial Guinea.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

The Cotton Tree was a landmark in downtown Freetown, 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.<ref name="Guardian">Template:Cite news</ref>

Saigon, the former name of Ho Chi Minh City, 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 Ceiba pentandra, but the Old World Bombax ceiba.Template:Citation needed

Gallery

• Ceiba pentandra Blanco2.238-cropped.jpg

  Ceiba pentranda

• Ceiba pentandra L. Gaertn.jpg

  Canopy

• Ceiba pentandra (L.) Gaertn. (9327946214).jpg

  Underside of single leaf

• Ceiba pentandra 0011.jpg

  Thorny buttress roots and trunk base

• Kapok flowers I IMG 2377.jpg

  Flowers in profile

• Kapok Fruit I IMG 3839.jpg

  Fruit close-up

• Kapok-Ceiba pentandra 03.JPG

  Twigs laden with dehiscent fruit showing kapok

• Ceiba pentandra - Jardim Botânico da Madeira 02.jpg

  Single dehiscent fruit revealing kapok-surrounded seeds

• Ceiba pentandra fruit in hg.jpg

  Dehisced fruit having shed shrivelled valves

See also

• The Great Kapok Tree
• Xtabay
• Parque de la Ceiba
• Fiber crop

External links

• Kapok Fibers Template:Webarchive
• Seed Fibers Template:Webarchive
• Germplasm Resources Information Network: Ceiba pentandra Template:Webarchive
• 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.