ceiba pentandra

 

  • and the Vietnamese name for the Kapok tree (bông) gòn, although, in this instance, the tree intended may well be, not the New World Ceiba pentandra, but the Old World Bombax
    ceiba.

  • The referenced reports make it clear that C. pentandra is among the largest trees in the world.

  • The tree and the cotton-like fluff obtained from its seed pods are commonly known in English as kapok, a Malay-derived name which originally applied to Bombax ceiba, a native
    of tropical Asia.

  • Uses The commercial tree is most heavily cultivated in the rainforests of Asia, notably in Java (hence one of its common names), the Philippines, Malaysia, and Hainan Island
    in China, as well as in South America.

  • The tree is cultivated for its cottonlike seed fibre, particularly in south-east Asia, and is also known as the Java cotton, Java kapok, silk-cotton or samauma.

  • [7][8][9][10] The buttress roots can be clearly seen in photographs extending 12 to 15 m (40 to 50 ft) up the trunk of some specimens[11] and extending out from the trunk
    as much as 20 m (65 ft) and then continuing below ground to a total length of 50 m (165 ft)[12][13] The trunk and many of the larger branches are often crowded with large simple thorns.

  • It was previously much used in life jackets and similar devices until synthetic materials largely replaced the fiber.

  • These major branches, usually 4 to 6 in number, can be up to 1.8 m (6 ft) thick[14][15] and form a crown of foliage as much as 61 m (201 ft) in width.

  • A somewhat smaller variety was introduced to South and Southeast Asia, where it is cultivated.

  • It has an iodine value of 85–100; this makes it a nondrying oil, which means that it does not dry out significantly when exposed to air.

  • Ceiba pentandra is a tropical tree of the order Malvales and the family Malvaceae (previously emplaced in the family Bombacaceae), native to Mexico, Central America and the
    Caribbean, northern South America, and (as the variety C. pentandra var guineensis) West Africa.

  • [3] In Spanish-speaking countries the tree is commonly known as “ceiba” and in French-speaking countries as fromager.

  • Native tribes along the Amazon River harvest the fibre to wrap around their blowgun darts.

 

Works Cited

[‘Rivers, M.C.; Mark, J. (2017). “Ceiba pentandra”. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2017: e.T61782438A61782442. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2017-3.RLTS.T61782438A61782442.en. Retrieved 19 November 2021.
2. ^ Jump up to:a b “Ceiba pentandra”. Plants of
the World Online. Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Retrieved 9 August 2020.
3. ^ “Bombax ceiba (PROSEA)”. Pl@ntUse. Retrieved 19 July 2021.
4. ^
(May 22, 2010). “Very huge tree in Thailand”. Retrieved May 5, 2011.
5. ^ “mayanodyssey.com – Informationen zum Thema mayanodyssey”. www.mayanodyssey.com.
6. ^ Prof. E.J.H. Corner, Wayside Trees of Malaya Volume 1 p. 436
7. ^ David G. Campbell,
LAND OF GHOSTS (Boston: Houghton-Mifflin, 2005) p. 129.
8. ^ “Tambopota Rainforest Preserve, Peru, 2000”. Archived from the original on 2008-12-01. Retrieved 2017-02-03.
9. ^ “Peru Journals”. www.drwren.com.
10. ^ “Archived copy”. Archived
from the original on 2017-12-30. Retrieved 2017-02-05.
11. ^ Dr. Al C. Carder, FOREST GIANTS OF THE WORLD (Markham, Ontario: Fitzhenry and Whiteside, 1995) p. 145 (Photo plate 123 with caption).
12. ^ Peter A. Furley D. Phil. and Walter W.
Newey Ph.D., GEOGRAPHY OF THE BIOSPHERE (London: Butterworth, 1983) p. 279.
13. ^ Michael Bright et al, 1000 WONDERS OF NATURE (London: Reader’s Digest Assoc., 2001) p. 332.
14. ^ Linda Gamlin and Anuschka de Rohan, MYSTERIES OF THE RAINFOREST
(Pleasantville, N.Y.: Reader’s Digest Assoc., 1998) p. 79.
15. ^ Ivan T. Sanderson and David Loth, IVAN T. SANDERSON’S BOOK OF GREAT JUNGLES (New York: Simon and Schuster, 1965) p. 78.
16. ^ Dr. Al C. Carder, GIANT TREES OF WESTERN AMERICA
AND THE WORLD (Madeira Park, British Columbia: Harbour Publishing, 2005) p. 129. Measured by Prof. Robert van Pelt in 2003.
17. ^ Jump up to:a b “Kapok seed oil”. www.tis-gdv.de.
18. ^ Jump up to:a b Hellmuth, Nicholas (March 2011). “Ceiba
pentandra” (PDF). Revue Magazine.
19. ^ Cabrera, Lydia (2006). El Monte. Editorial Letras Cubanas. p. 171ff. ISBN 978-959-10-1546-4.
20. ^ Ramírez Cabrera, Luis E. (2014). Diccionario básico de religiones de origin africano en Cuba. Editorial
Oriente. p. 77. ISBN 978-959-11-0972-9.
21. ^ “Tobago’s Avatar – ‘The tree of life'”. Tobago News. 2012-03-01. Archived from the original on 2013-06-30.
22. ^ Bontadi, Jarno; Bernabei, Mauro (March 2016). “Inside the Dogon Masks: The Selection
of Woods for Ritual Objects”. IAWA Journal / International Association of Wood Anatomists. 37: 84–97 – via Researchgate.
23. ^ Philpott, Don (2003). Landmark Puerto Rico. Hunter Publishing, Inc. p. 14. ISBN 9781901522341.
24. ^ Berry, Bruce.
“Equatorial Guinea”. CRW Flags. Retrieved 2013-04-27.
Photo credit: https://www.flickr.com/photos/sasjamilenkovic/3614805920/’]