Silk Cotton Tree

A genus of four species of large, deciduous trees, often with buttressed trunks, native to tropical America and Africa. Ceiba pentandra may have been introduced to Africa from S America, and it is widely cultivated and naturalized throughout the tropics for food, medicine, and raw materials, such as kapok. In Africa and the West Indies, it is venerated as the home of spirits. The flowers are pollinated by bats. Kapok fiber is a downy material taht surrounds the seeds. It is eight times lighter than cotton, and absorbs sound. A single tree bears 300-400 pods a year, yielding up to 20kg (44lb) of kapok, from its fifth year until it is about 60 years old. Ceiba pentandra also yields a dark red-brown gum that resembles tragacanth (Astralagus gummifer, See, tragacanth).

Deciduous or semi-evergreen tree with spiny trunk and buttresses, and wide-spreading branches with palmate leaves, 8-15cm (3-6in) long, and yellow, pink, or white, 5-petaled flowers 6cm (2½in) across, followed by spiny fruits 10-30cm (4-12in) long, containing black seeds embedded in silky white fibers.


Common Name:
Silk Cotton Tree
Other Names:
Kapok
Botanical Name:
Ceiba pentandra syn. Bombax pentandra
Genus:
Ceiba
Family:
Bombacaceae
Native Location:
W Africa, naturalized throughout the tropics
Cultivation:
Rich, deep, moisture-retentive, but well-drained soil in sun. May be damaged by wind. Prune pot-grown plants to shape in spring.
Propagation:
By seed sown when ripe at 21-24°C (70-75°F); by semi-ripe cuttings in summer. In the tropics, Ceiba is propagated by cutting branches, or "post-cuttings", 1.2-2m (4-6ft) long, which are spaced 3m (10ft) apart in the open ground. They may also be inserted closers together and used as poles for the cultivation of Piper spp. (See, pepper).
Harvest:
Leaves are picked during the growing season and used fresh or dried in infusions and poultices. Buds, flowers, and stamens are collected as required and used fresh. Wood is cut in the dry season ("when spirits are absent") and bark removed for use in decoctions. Gum is collected from incisions into young trees, made as the sap is rising at the end of the dry season. Fruits are collected when ripe and dried before removal of seeds, separation of fiber, and processing for kapok.
Height:
25-70m (80-230ft)
:Width
25m (80ft)
Hardiness:
Min. 16°C (61°F)
Parts Used:
Leaves, buds, flowers, stamens, bark, seeds, oil, gum.
Properties:
An astringent, diuretic herb that lowers fever, relaxes spasms, and controls bleeding.
Medicinal Uses:
Internally for abnormal uterine bleeding, dysentery, diarrhea in children (gum), bronchial congestion (bark, leaves). Externally, in baths, for fevers and headaches (bark, leaves), and as a poultice for erysipelas, sprains (leaves), and wounds (bark).
Culinary Uses:
Mucilaginous leaves, buds, and immature fruits are cooked as vegetables. Seeds are sprouted and eaten raw, roasted as a flavoring, added to soups, or made into a sauce. They also yield a cooking oil. Flowers are blanched before eating. Stamens are used to color soups and curries.
Economic Uses:
Kapok is used in pillows, mattresses, acoustic installation, and life jackets.
Bibliography:
Encylopedia of Herbs by Deni Brown Copyright ©: 1995, 2001 Dorling Kindersley Limited pg 161