Kapok Tree

Kapok
	File:Kapok tree Honolulu.jpg
	Kapok planted in Honolulu, Hawaii
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
Division:	Magnoliophyta
Class:	Magnoliopsida
Order:	Malvales
Family:	Malvaceae
Genus:	Ceiba
Species:	Ceiba pentandra
Binomial name
	Ceiba pentandra; (L.) Gaertn.

Ceiba pentandra or the Kapok is a species of tropical trees 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 Ceiba pentandra var. guineensis) to tropical west Africa.The normal colours are white and pink flowers it takes 4 weeks to grow a bud.

File:Kapok tree-pod.jpg

Kapok pod showing kapok fibres inside

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 of life grows to 60–70 metres (200–230 feet) tall. It has a very substantial trunk up to 3 metres (9.8 feet) in diameter with buttresses.

Gallery

Ceiba pentranda
Canopy
Underside of single leaf
Thorny buttress roots and trunk base
Flowers in profile
Fruit close-up
Twigs laden with dehiscent fruit showing kapok
Single dehiscent fruit revealing kapok-surrounded seeds
Dehisced fruit having shed shrivelled valves

Symbolism

Ceiba pentandra is the national emblem of Guatemala,^[1] Puerto Rico,^[2] and Equatorial Guinea. It appears on the coat of arms and flag of Equatorial Guinea.^[3]

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.^[4]

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.

Other websites

Media related to Kapok Tree at Wikimedia Commons
Data related to Kapok Tree at Wikispecies

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↑ Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named Hellmuth
↑ Philpott, Don (2003). Landmark Puerto Rico. Hunter Publishing, Inc. p. 14. ISBN 9781901522341. Search this book on
↑ Berry, Bruce. "Equatorial Guinea". CRW Flags. Archived from the original on 2019-05-14. Retrieved 2013-04-27. Unknown parameter |url-status= ignored (help)
↑ "Sierra Leone's symbolic Cotton Tree falls during storm in Freetown". The Guardian. Agence France-Presse. 25 May 2023. Archived from the original on 2023-05-25. Retrieved 2023-05-25. Unknown parameter |url-status= ignored (help)

[Hellmuth-1] Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named Hellmuth

[2] Philpott, Don (2003). Landmark Puerto Rico. Hunter Publishing, Inc. p. 14. ISBN 9781901522341. Search this book on

[3] Berry, Bruce. "Equatorial Guinea". CRW Flags. Archived from the original on 2019-05-14. Retrieved 2013-04-27. Unknown parameter |url-status= ignored (help)

[Guardian-4] "Sierra Leone's symbolic Cotton Tree falls during storm in Freetown". The Guardian. Agence France-Presse. 25 May 2023. Archived from the original on 2023-05-25. Retrieved 2023-05-25. Unknown parameter |url-status= ignored (help)

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Kapok Tree

Gallery

Symbolism

Other websites

📰 Article(s) of the same category(ies)[edit]