Kapok
Family Bombacaceae
Ceiba pentandra (= Bombax pentandrum, = Eriodendron anfractuosum), kapok (C. pentandra 1), is a fast growing deciduous tree (C. pentandra 6), up to 30 m high, with a tapering trunk, often buttressed (C. pentandra 2) and with short sharp spines on trunk and branches. The alternate leaves are palmately compound, crowned at the end of twigs. The flowers are borne in axillary clusters (C. pentandra 3), dirty white in colour, with numerous stamens united in a column and a 5-celled ovary. The flowers open after sunset, bats are the main pollinators. The fruit (C. pentandra 4) is an oblong, leathery and pendulous capsule with many dark brown seeds embedded in whitish floss. Each fibre or hair is a single cell with an air-filled lumen, lustrous, elastic and water repellent. A single tree (C. pentandra 5) yields up to 5 kg of kapok annually.
Distribution
The kapok tree is probably of tropical American origin and most likely currents carried most likely fruits to Africa in ancient times. There are indications that it reached Java by the 10th century. The Arabs probably took it to India and from there it was introduced into Malaysia and Indonesia. Eventually kapok reached Samoa and Tahiti in the Pacific.
Use
Kapok is used in pillows, mattresses, upholstery, life jackets, sleeping bags etc. and for insulation purposes. The seeds yield edible oil, which is also used as a lubricant and for soap manufacture. The soft wood is often used for dugout canoes; the buttresses are used for tables and doors.
The main kapok producing countries are Thailand, Cambodia, Indonesia, East Africa, India and Pakistan. The biggest importer is the US.