Kapok

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

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.

Contents 1 Uses 1.1 Ethnomedical uses 2 References 3 Gallery 4 Gallery of Ceiba pentandra & Birds/a Bat on it

[edit] Uses

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.^[1]

This tree is the official national tree of Puerto Rico.

[edit] Ethnomedical uses

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.^[2]

[edit] References

1. ^ Burndud (1990). Wanggalili; Yinjibarndi and Ngarluma Plants. Juluwarlu Aboriginal Corporation, 19. 
2. ^ Ayahuasca Analogues

• Germplasm Resources Information Network: Ceiba pentandra
• The larger seed pods of SEA kapok and its use as a fuel in fire pistons
• 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.

[edit] Gallery

Kapok leaves in Kolkata, West Bengal, India.	Kapok Fruit in Kolkata, West Bengal, India.	Kapok bark in Kolkata, West Bengal, India.	Buttress roots
Cortex	Fruit

[edit] Gallery of Ceiba pentandra & Birds/a Bat on it

Purple-rumped Sunbird Leptocoma zeylonica feeding in Kolkata, West Bengal, India.	Purple-rumped Sunbird Leptocoma zeylonica feeding in Kolkata, West Bengal, India.	Purple Sunbird Nectarinia asiatica - Male (Breeding) in Kolkata, West Bengal, India.	Purple Sunbird Nectarinia asiatica - feeding in Kolkata, West Bengal, India.
Red-vented Bulbul Pycnonotus cafer feeding in Kolkata, West Bengal, India.	Red-vented Bulbul Pycnonotus cafer feeding in Kolkata, West Bengal, India.	Jungle Myna Acridotheres fuscus in Kolkata, West Bengal, India.	Jungle Myna Acridotheres fuscus feeding in Kolkata, West Bengal, India.
Asian Pied Starling Sturnus contra feeding in Kolkata, West Bengal, India.	Chestnut-tailed Starlings Sturnus malabaricus in Kolkata, West Bengal, India.	Chestnut-tailed Starlings Sturnus malabaricus in Kolkata, West Bengal, India.	Chestnut-tailed Starlings Sturnus malabaricus in Kolkata, West Bengal, India.
Chestnut-tailed Starlings Sturnus malabaricus in Kolkata, West Bengal, India.	Common Tailorbird Orthotomus sutorius in Kolkata, West Bengal, India.	Indian flying fox Pteropus giganteus feeding in Kolkata, West Bengal, India.	Purple-rumped Sunbird Leptocoma zeylonica feeding in Kolkata, West Bengal, India.
Purple-rumped Sunbird Leptocoma zeylonica feeding in Kolkata, West Bengal, India.	Purple Sunbird Nectarinia asiatica in Kolkata, West Bengal, India.