Ceiba pentandra

Ceiba pentandra
Kapok planted in Honolulu, Hawai'i
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
(unranked):	Angiosperms
(unranked):	Eudicots
(unranked):	Rosids
Order:	Malvales
Family:	Malvaceae
Genus:	Ceiba
Species:	C. pentandra
Binomial name
Ceiba pentandra (L.) Gaertn.
Synonyms
Bombax cumanense Kunth Bombax guineense Schum. & Thonn. Bombax guineensis Schumach. Bombax inerme L. Bombax mompoxense Kunth Bombax occidentale Spreng. [Illegitimate] Bombax orientale Spreng. Bombax pentandrum L. Bombax pentandrum Jacq. Ceiba anfractuosa (DC.) M.Gómez Ceiba caribaea (DC.) A.Chev. Ceiba casearia Medik. Ceiba guineensis (Thonn.) A.Chev. Ceiba guineensis var. ampla A. Chev. Ceiba guineensis var. clausa A. Chev. Ceiba occidentalis (Spreng.) Burkill Ceiba pendrandra f. grisea Ulbr. Ceiba pentandra f. albolana Ulbr. Ceiba pentandra var. caribaea (DC.) Bakh. Ceiba pentandra var. clausa Ulbr. Ceiba pentandra var. dehiscens Ulbr. Ceiba pentandra f. grisea Ulbr. Ceiba pentandra var. indica Bakhuisen Ceiba thonnerii A. Chev. Ceiba thonningii A.Chev. Eriodendron anfractuosum DC. Eriodendron anfractuosum var. africanum DC. Eriodendron anfractuosum var. caribaeum DC. Eriodendron anfractuosum var. guianense Sagot Eriodendron anfractuosum var. indicum DC. Eriodendron caribaeum G.Don Eriodendron caribaeum G. Don ex Loud. Eriodendron guineense G. Don ex Loud. Eriodendron occidentale (Spreng.) G.Don Eriodendron orientale Kostel. Eriodendron pentandrum (L.) Kurz Gossampinus alba Buch.-Ham. Gossampinus rumphii Schott & Endl. Xylon pentandrum Kuntze

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. A somewhat smaller variety is found throughout southern Asia and the East Indies. Kapok is the most used common name for the tree and may also refer to the cotton-like fluff obtained from its seed pods. The tree is cultivated for the seed fibre, particularly in south-east Asia, and is also known as the Java cotton, Java kapok, silk-cotton, Samauma, or ceiba.

The tree grows to 70 m (230 ft), with reports of Kapoks up to 252 feet (77 meters) and a trunk often up to 3 m (9.8 ft) in diameter above the extensive buttresses. The very largest individuals however can be 19 feet (6 meters) thick or more above the buttresses. The trunk and many of the larger branches are often crowded with large simple thorns. These major branches, usually 4 to 6 in number and up to six feet (1.8 meters) thick form a crown of foliage as much as 201 feet (61 meters) in width. The palmate leaves are composed of 5 to 9 leaflets, each up to 20 cm (7.9 in) long. The trees produce several hundred 15 cm (5.9 in) pods containing seeds surrounded by a fluffy, yellowish fibre that is a mix of lignin and cellulose. The buttress roots can be clearly seen in photographs extending 40 to 50 feet (12 to 15 meters) up the trunk of some specimens and extending out from the trunk as much as 65 feet (20 meters) then continuing below ground for a total length of 165 feet (50 meters) The above reports make it clear that C. pentandra is among the largest trees in the world. One of the oldest known Kapok trees, at 200 years, lives in Miami, Florida.

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Wikipedia