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| Kapok | ||||||||||||||
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| Scientific classification | ||||||||||||||
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| Binomial name | ||||||||||||||
| Ceiba pentandra (L.) Gaertn. |
Kapok pod showing kapok fibres inside
Kapok flowers in Kolkata, West Bengal, India.
Kapok (Ceiba pentandra) is a tropical tree of the order Malvales and the family Malvaceae (previously separated in the family Bombacaceae), native to Mexico, Central America and the Caribbean, northern South America, and (as the variety C. pentandra var. guineensis) to tropical west Africa. The word is also used for the fibre obtained from its seed pods. The tree is also known as the Java cotton, Java kapok, or ceiba. It is a sacred symbol in Maya mythology.
The tree grows to 60-70 m (200-230 ft) tall and has a very substantial trunk up to 3 m (10 ft) in diameter with buttresses. The trunk and many of the larger branches are densely crowded with very large, robust simple thorns. The leaves are compound of 5 to 9 leaflets, each up to 20 cm (8 in) and palm like. Adult trees produce several hundred 15 cm (6 in) seed pods. The pods contain seeds surrounded by a fluffy, yellowish fiber that is a mix of lignin and cellulose.
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Kapok seeds within fibres in Kolkata, West Bengal, India.
The fibre is light, very buoyant, resilient, highly flammable and resistant to water. The process of harvesting and separating the fibre is labour-intensive and manual. It cannot be spun but is used as an alternative to down as filling in mattresses, pillows, upholstery, teddy bears, zafus and for insulation. It was previously much used in life jackets and similar devices. The fibre has been largely replaced by man-made materials. The seeds produce an oil used locally in soap and that can be used as fertilizer.
In Southeast Asian countries kapok has larger seed pods and the fibre which is highly flammable is used as a fuel in fire pistons, in Thailand called taban fai ตะบันไฟ.
The commercial tree is most heavily cultivated in Asia, notably in Java (hence its nicknames), Philippines, and Malaysia, but also in South America.
A similar fibre is found in the Indian Bombax ceiba (also known as Bombax malabaricum or "silk-cotton tree"). It is termed Indian kapok and is darker in colour and less buoyant than the true variety. Another species, the Kapok Bush Aerva javanica, produces a material that is used for stuffing pillows.Burndud (1990). Wanggalili; Yinjibarndi and Ngarluma Plants. Juluwarlu Aboriginal Corporation, 19.
This tree is the official national tree of Puerto Rico.
Ceiba pentandra bark decoction has been used as a diuretic, aphrodisiac, and to treat headache, as well as type II diabetes.
Ceiba pentandra is used as an additive to some versions of the hallucinogenic drink Ayahuasca.Ayahuasca Analogues
Wikimedia Commons has media related to:
Kapok leaves I IMG 5949.jpg
Kapok leaves in Kolkata, West Bengal, India. |
Kapok Fruit I IMG 3839.jpg
Kapok Fruit in Kolkata, West Bengal, India. |
Kapok bark I IMG 2556.jpg
Kapok bark in Kolkata, West Bengal, India. |
Ceiba pentandra MS4104.JPG
Buttress roots |
Ceiba pentandra cortex hg.jpg
Cortex |
Ceiba pentandra fruit out hg.jpg
Fruit |
Chestnut-tailed Starling (Sturnus malabaricus) feeding on Kapok (Ceiba pentandra) in Kolkata W IMG 3957.jpg
Chestnut-tailed Starling Sturnus malabaricus feeding in Kolkata, West Bengal, India. |
Purple-rumped Sunbird (Leptocoma zeylonica) feeding on Kapok (Ceiba pentandra) in Kolkata I IMG 3125.jpg
Purple-rumped Sunbird Leptocoma zeylonica feeding in Kolkata, West Bengal, India. |
Purple-rumped Sunbird (Leptocoma zeylonica) feeding on Kapok (Ceiba pentandra) in Kolkata I IMG 3124.jpg
Purple-rumped Sunbird Leptocoma zeylonica feeding in Kolkata, West Bengal, India. |
Purple-rumped Sunbird (Leptocoma zeylonica) feeding on Kapok (Ceiba pentandra) in Kolkata I IMG 1860.jpg
Purple-rumped Sunbird Leptocoma zeylonica feeding in Kolkata, West Bengal, India. |
Purple Sunbird (Nectarinia asiatica)- Male (Breeding) on Kapok (Ceiba pentandra) in Kolkata I IMG 1893.jpg
Purple Sunbird Nectarinia asiatica - Male (Breeding) in Kolkata, West Bengal, India. |
Purple Sunbird (Nectarinia asiatica) feeding on Kapok (Ceiba pentandra) in Kolkata I IMG 3143.jpg
Purple Sunbird Nectarinia asiatica - feeding in Kolkata, West Bengal, India. |
Red-vented Bulbul (Pycnonotus cafer) feeding at Kapok (Ceiba pentandra) at Kolkata I IMG 2535.jpg
Red-vented Bulbul Pycnonotus cafer feeding in Kolkata, West Bengal, India. |
Red-vented Bulbul (Pycnonotus cafer) feeding at Kapok (Ceiba pentandra) at Kolkata I IMG 2525.jpg
Red-vented Bulbul Pycnonotus cafer feeding in Kolkata, West Bengal, India. |
Jungle Myna (Acridotheres fuscus) on Kapok (Ceiba pentandra) in Kolkata I IMG 1340.jpg
Jungle Myna Acridotheres fuscus in Kolkata, West Bengal, India. |
Jungle Myna (Acridotheres fuscus) feeding on Kapok (Ceiba pentandra) in Kolkata I IMG 1339.jpg
Jungle Myna Acridotheres fuscus feeding in Kolkata, West Bengal, India. |
Asian Pied Starling (Sturnus contra) feeding on Kapok (Ceiba pentandra) in Kolkata I IMG 3091.jpg
Asian Pied Starling Sturnus contra feeding in Kolkata, West Bengal, India. |
Chestnut-tailed Starlings (Sturnus malabaricus) on Kapok (Ceiba pentandra) in Kolkata W IMG 3790.jpg
Chestnut-tailed Starlings Sturnus malabaricus in Kolkata, West Bengal, India. |
Chestnut-tailed Starlings (Sturnus malabaricus) on Kapok (Ceiba pentandra) in Kolkata W IMG 3776.jpg
Chestnut-tailed Starlings Sturnus malabaricus in Kolkata, West Bengal, India. |
Chestnut tailed Starling (Sturnus malabaricus) on a Kapok (Ceiba pentandra) tree W IMG 3466.jpg
Chestnut-tailed Starlings Sturnus malabaricus in Kolkata, West Bengal, India. |
Chestnut-tailed Starling (Sturnus malabaricus) on Kapok (Ceiba pentandra) in Kolkata W IMG 3764.jpg
Chestnut-tailed Starlings Sturnus malabaricus in Kolkata, West Bengal, India. |
Common Tailorbird (Orthotomus sutorius) on Kapok (Ceiba pentandra) in Kolkata W IMG 3492.jpg
Common Tailorbird Orthotomus sutorius in Kolkata, West Bengal, India. |
Indian flying fox (Pteropus giganteus) feeding on Kapok (Ceiba pentandra) in Kolkata W IMG 3852.jpg
Indian flying fox Pteropus giganteus feeding in Kolkata, West Bengal, India. |
Purple-rumped Sunbird (Leptocoma zeylonica) feeding on Kapok (Ceiba pentandra) in Kolkata W IMG 3840.jpg
Purple-rumped Sunbird Leptocoma zeylonica feeding in Kolkata, West Bengal, India. |
Purple-rumped Sunbird (Leptocoma zeylonica) feeding on Kapok (Ceiba pentandra) in Kolkata W IMG 3839.jpg
Purple-rumped Sunbird Leptocoma zeylonica feeding in Kolkata, West Bengal, India. |
Purple Sunbird (Cinnyris asiaticus) at Kapok (Ceiba pentandra) in Kolkata W IMG 3836.jpg
Purple Sunbird Nectarinia asiatica in Kolkata, West Bengal, India. |
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