Ceiba pentandra

{{Short description|Kapok tree cultivated for seed fibre}} {{Speciesbox | image = Panguana-Lupuna-2008-2.jpg | image_caption = In eastern Peru | status = LC | status_system = IUCN3.1 | status_ref = <ref name="iucn status 19 November 2021">{{cite iucn |author=Rivers, M.C. |author2=Mark, J. |date=2017 |title=''Ceiba pentandra'' |volume=2017 |article-number=e.T61782438A61782442 |doi=10.2305/IUCN.UK.2017-3.RLTS.T61782438A61782442.en |access-date=19 November 2021}}</ref> | genus = Ceiba | species = pentandra | authority = (L.) Gaertn.<ref name=POWO>{{BioRef |powo |title = ''Ceiba pentandra'' |id = 1166232-2 |access-date = 9 August 2020}}</ref> | synonyms = {{Species list |Bombax cumanense |Kunth |Bombax mompoxense |Kunth |Bombax orientale |Spreng. |Bombax pentandrum |L. |Ceiba caribaea |(DC.) A.Chev. |Ceiba guineensis |(Schumach.) A.Chev. |Ceiba occidentalis |(Spreng.) Burkill |Ceiba thonningii |A.Chev. |Eriodendron caribaeum |(DC.) G.Don |Eriodendron occidentale |(Spreng.) G.Don |Eriodendron orientale |Kostel. |Eriodendron pentandrum |(L.) Kurz |Gossampinus alba |Buch.-Ham. |Gossampinus rumphii |Schott & Endl. |Xylon pentandrum |(L.) Kuntze }} |synonyms_ref = <ref name=POWO/> }}

'''''Ceiba pentandra''''' is a tropical tree of the order Malvales and the family Malvaceae (previously placed in the family Bombacaceae), native to Central America, the Caribbean, and the northern half of South America;<ref name=POWO/> some authors also consider it native in western and central Africa.<ref name = PROTA>{{cite web |title=Ceiba pentandra (L.) Gaertn. |url=https://prota.prota4u.org/protav8.asp?g=pe&p=Ceiba+pentandra |website=PROTA4U |publisher=Plant Resources of Tropical Africa |access-date=3 September 2025}}</ref> It is widely introduced in other tropical regions including South and Southeast Asia, where it is cultivated.<ref name=POWO/>

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 the related species ''Bombax ceiba'', a native of tropical Asia.<ref>{{cite web |title=''Bombax ceiba'' (PROSEA) |url=https://uses.plantnet-project.org/en/Bombax_ceiba_(PROSEA) |website=Pl@ntUse |access-date=19 July 2021 |archive-date=19 July 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210719150254/https://uses.plantnet-project.org/en/Bombax_ceiba_(PROSEA) |url-status=live }}</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== thumb|Base of giant specimen in eastern Ecuador The tree grows up to a maximum verified height of {{convert|60.4|m}} tall as confirmed by laser measurement,<ref>{{cite web |last1=Bouricius |first1=Bart |title=Kapok close to the Piedras Blancas National Park, La Gamba, Pacific Coast, Costa Rica |url=https://www.monumentaltrees.com/en/cri/pacificcoast/puntarenas/9750_piedrasblancasnationalpark/19180/ |website=Monumental Trees |access-date=30 June 2025}}</ref> but with unverified claims of specimens up to {{cvt|77|m}} tall.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.mayanodyssey.com/costa-rica/osa-peninsula.htm |title=mayanodyssey.com - Informationen zum Thema mayanodyssey. |website=www.mayanodyssey.com |access-date=2017-02-03 |archive-date=2009-09-10 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090910014142/http://www.mayanodyssey.com/costa-rica/osa-peninsula.htm |url-status=live }}</ref>{{Better source needed|reason=no evidence given for the claim|date=June 2025}} These very large trees are in the Neotropics or tropical Africa. In Southeast Asia ''C. pentandra'' often only reaches {{cvt|90|ft|m|order=flip}}.<ref>Prof. E.J.H. Corner, Wayside Trees of Malaya Volume 1 p. 436</ref> Trunks can often be up to {{cvt|3|m|ft|0}} in diameter above the extensive buttress roots. The very largest individuals, however, can be {{cvt|19|ft|m|order=flip}} thick or more above the buttresses.<ref>David G. Campbell, LAND OF GHOSTS (Boston: Houghton-Mifflin, 2005) p. 129.</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.drwren.com/photo_album/Tambop00/033.htm |title=Tambopota Rainforest Preserve, Peru, 2000 |access-date=2017-02-03 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081201102624/http://www.drwren.com/photo_album/Tambop00/033.htm |archive-date=2008-12-01 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.drwren.com/peru/journal.html#0804 |title=Peru Journals |website=www.drwren.com |access-date=2019-06-28 |archive-date=2022-05-23 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220523091141/http://www.drwren.com/peru/journal.html#0804 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web | access-date=2017-02-05 | archive-date=2017-12-30 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171230230340/http://www.ecology.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/12/amazonCeiba-big-tree-rf223.jpg | url=http://www.ecology.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/12/amazonCeiba-big-tree-rf223.jpg | title=amazonCeiba-big-tree-rf223 }}</ref>

The buttress roots can be clearly seen in photographs extending {{cvt|40|to|50|ft|m|order=flip}} 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 {{cvt|65|ft|m|order=flip}} and then continuing below ground to a total length of {{cvt|165|ft|m|order=flip}}<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 {{cvt|6|ft|m|order=flip}} 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 {{cvt|60|m}} 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 palmately divided leaves are composed of 5–9 (–15) leaflets, the leaflets {{cvt|5|–|21|cm|in|0}} long and {{cvt|2|–|6.5|cm|in|0}} broad.<ref name = PROTA/>

The tree is briefly deciduous, and it is during this leafless period that it flowers, with umbels of large flowers ranging from creamy white to red.<ref>{{cite book | last= Rohwer | first= Jens | date= 2002| title= Tropical Plants of the World | location= New York | publisher= Sterling Publishing co. Inc. | page= 84 |isbn= 0-8069-8387-6 }}</ref> After blooming, the trees produce several hundred {{cvt|15|cm|in|frac=2}} pods containing seeds surrounded by a fluffy, yellowish fibre that is a mix of lignin and cellulose.

==Origin and distribution== ''Ceiba pentandra'' originated in the American tropics. Although it is generally thought to have been introduced to Africa by humans,<ref name=POWO/> there is no historical evidence of this, and there is strong ecological, botanical and cytological evidence that the tree is native to western and central Africa. The dispersal mechanism by which the tree may have crossed the Atlantic Ocean is uncertain, but the fruits float, and could have been transported by ocean currents. Domesticated in West Africa, ''Ceiba pentandra'' is possibly native from Cape Verde eastwards to Chad and southwards to Angola. It has been introduced from there to East Africa and Asia.<ref name = PROTA/>

==Taxonomy== ''Ceiba pentandra'' is generally considered monotypic with no infraspecific taxa,<ref name=POWO/> though some authors have divided it into three genetic varieties:<ref name=PROTA/> * ''C. p.'' var. ''caribaea'' <small>(DC.) Bakh.</small>, the rainforest emergent of the neotropics and African rainforests, with a chromosome count of 2n=80 or 88. * ''C. p.'' var. ''guineensis'' <small>(Schumach. & Thonn.) H.G.Baker</small> of the African savannas with a count of 2n=72. * ''C. p.'' var. ''pentandra'' a semi-dwarf form found throughout southern Asia and parts of Africa with a count ranging from 2n=72 to 84. This last is the source of commercial kapok.<ref name = PROTA/>

==Uses== {{unreferenced section|date=April 2024}} 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 fibre is light, very buoyant, resilient, resistant to water, but very flammable. The process of harvesting and separating the fibre is labour-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 fibre.<ref>{{Cite web |date=23 February 2025 |title=A short history of early lifejackets and the NZ design which saved countless lives |url=https://www.kotuia.org.nz/korero-stories/a-short-history-of-early-lifejackets-and-the-nz-design-which-saved-countless-lives/ |access-date=23 February 2025}}</ref>

===Traditional medicinal uses=== {{unreferenced section|date=April 2024}} ''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.{{Citation needed|date=January 2020}}

===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">{{cite web |url=http://www.tis-gdv.de/tis_e/ware/oele/kapok/kapok.htm |title=Kapok seed oil |website=www.tis-gdv.de |access-date=2011-07-26 |archive-date=2010-11-26 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101126103639/http://www.tis-gdv.de/tis_e/ware/oele/kapok/kapok.htm |url-status=live }}</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">{{cite journal |url=http://www.maya-archaeology.org/FLAAR_Reports_on_Mayan_archaeology_Iconography_publications_books_articles/23_Ceiba-pentandra-sacred-tree-for-Classic-Maya_Revue_Magazine-Mar-2011.pdf |first=Nicholas |last=Hellmuth |title=''Ceiba pentandra'' |date=March 2011 |journal=Revue Magazine |access-date=2013-04-28 |archive-date=2012-06-17 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120617064921/http://www.maya-archaeology.org/FLAAR_Reports_on_Mayan_archaeology_Iconography_publications_books_articles/23_Ceiba-pentandra-sacred-tree-for-Classic-Maya_Revue_Magazine-Mar-2011.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref>

The Ceiba is an important tree in Cuban culture. It is a sacred tree in Palo, Arará and Santería.<ref>{{cite book |title=El Monte |first=Lydia |last=Cabrera |publisher=Editorial Letras Cubanas |year=2006 |isbn=978-959-10-1546-4 |page=171ff}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |title=Diccionario básico de religiones de origin africano en Cuba |first=Luis E. |last=Ramírez Cabrera |publisher=Editorial Oriente |year=2014 |isbn=978-959-11-0972-9 |page=77}}</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>{{Cite web |last=Ross |first=Ciro Bianchi |date=2012-10-27 |title=Three times around the ceiba |url=https://oncubanews.com/en/made-in-cuba/three-times-around-ceiba/ |access-date=2024-05-13 |website=OnCubaNews English |language=en-US}}</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>{{cite news |url=http://www.thetobagonews.com/opinion/-Tobagos-Avatar--The-tree-of-life-141135673.html |title=Tobago's Avatar – 'The tree of life' |work=Tobago News |date=2012-03-01 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20130630103605/http://www.thetobagonews.com/opinion/-Tobagos-Avatar--The-tree-of-life-141135673.html |archive-date=2013-06-30}}</ref>

Most masks from Burkina Faso, especially those of Bobo and Mossi people, are carved from ''C. pentandra'' timber.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Bontadi |first1=Jarno |last2=Bernabei |first2=Mauro |date=March 2016 |title=Inside the Dogon Masks: The Selection of Woods for Ritual Objects |url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/298728256 |journal=IAWA Journal |volume=37 |pages=84–97 |doi=10.1163/22941932-20160122 |via=ResearchGate}}</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>{{Cite web |last=Kempen |first=Michiel van |title=De levende afgod of De geschiedenis van een kankantrieboom {{!}} Literatuurgeschiedenis |url=https://www.literatuurgeschiedenis.org/teksten/de-levende-afgod-of-de-geschiedenis-van-een-kankantrieboom |access-date=2024-11-04 |website=www.literatuurgeschiedenis.org |language=nl}}</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>{{Cite web |title=Kankantrie boom |url=https://surinaamserfgoed.com/kankantrieboom/ |access-date=2024-11-04 |website=Surinaams erfgoed |language=nl-NL}}</ref>

==Symbolism== ''Ceiba pentandra'' is the national emblem of Guatemala,<ref name="Hellmuth"/> Puerto Rico,<ref>{{cite book |first=Don |last=Philpott |title=Landmark Puerto Rico |publisher=Hunter Publishing, Inc |isbn=978-1-901522-34-1 |year=2003 |page=14}}</ref> and Equatorial Guinea. It appears on the coat of arms and flag of Equatorial Guinea.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.crwflags.com/fotw/flags/gq.html |first=Bruce |last=Berry |title=Equatorial Guinea |publisher=CRW Flags |access-date=2013-04-27 |archive-date=2019-05-14 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190514192509/https://www.crwflags.com/fotw/flags/gq.html |url-status=live }}</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 roughly 40-metre tall tree snapped near the base, and fell in a storm on 24 May 2023.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Brinkerink |first1=Wim |title=Kapok at Walpole Street in Freetown, North West Province, Sierra Leone |url=https://www.monumentaltrees.com/en/sle/northwest/westernurban/33953_walpolestreet/ |website=Monumental Trees |access-date=30 June 2025}}</ref><ref name="Guardian">{{Cite news |agency=Agence France-Presse |date=25 May 2023 |title=Sierra Leone's symbolic Cotton Tree falls during storm in Freetown |work=The Guardian |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/may/25/sierra-leone-symbolic-cotton-tree-falls-during-storm-in-freetown |access-date=2023-05-25 |archive-date=2023-05-25 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230525160029/https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/may/25/sierra-leone-symbolic-cotton-tree-falls-during-storm-in-freetown |url-status=live }}</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''.{{citation needed|date=January 2025}}

==Gallery== <gallery mode="packed" heights="120px"> 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 </gallery>

==References== {{Reflist}}

==External links== {{Commons category|Ceiba pentandra}} {{Wiktionary|Ceiba pentandra|kapok}}

*[http://www.textileschool.com/School/Fiber/NaturalCellulosicSeed/KapokFibers.aspx Kapok Fibres] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130120083126/http://www.textileschool.com/School/Fiber/NaturalCellulosicSeed/KapokFibers.aspx |date=2013-01-20 }} *[http://www.textileschool.com/School/Fiber/NaturalCellulosicSeed.aspx Seed Fibres] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131109114103/http://www.textileschool.com/School/Fiber/NaturalCellulosicSeed.aspx |date=2013-11-09 }} *[https://www.ars-grin.gov/cgi-bin/npgs/html/taxon.pl?9703 Germplasm Resources Information Network: ''Ceiba pentandra''] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150924160330/http://www.ars-grin.gov/cgi-bin/npgs/html/taxon.pl?9703 |date=2015-09-24 }} *[http://www.westafricanplants.senckenberg.de/root/index.php?page_id=14&id=299 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.

pentandra Category:Crops originating from the Americas Category:Fiber plants Category:National symbols of Equatorial Guinea Category:National symbols of Guatemala Category:National symbols of Puerto Rico Category:Plants described in 1791 Category:Botanical taxa named by Carl Linnaeus Category:Trees of Africa Category:Trees of Northern America Category:Trees of South America