Kapok

Kapok planted in Honolulu, Hawaii

Plant Info

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.

Kapok pod showing kapok fibres inside

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.

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), Malaysia, and Indonesia, but also in the Philippines and 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.

This tree is the official national tree of Puerto Rico.