Ceiba pentandra Seeds | Kapok Tree
LATIN NAME: Ceiba pentandra
COMMON NAME: Kapok Tree
Plant Profile
Ceiba pentandra is the giant of the tropical lowland forest, and it is often the largest tree in the landscape. The trunk is massive and buttressed at the base, often with plank roots two metres high, and the crown emerges above the canopy. The bark is grey and smooth on young trees and becomes spiny on old ones, and the tree can reach seventy metres.
The species is native to West Africa and to the Amazon, and it was carried to Asia by the Portuguese in the seventeenth century. It is grown for the floss that fills its pods, for the oil in its seed and as an ornamental, and in many places it is planted in village squares and in cemeteries. The flowers open at night and are pollinated by bats.
Science & Biotechnology
The floss is a seed hair, not a bast fibre, and it cannot be spun on its own. Each hair is a single cell with a thin, waxy wall, so it collapses and mats rather than twisting into a thread. That is why kapok was used for life jackets, for mattresses and for insulation, where its lightness and water repellency mattered more than strength.
The seed oil contains cyclopropenoid fatty acids, malvalic and sterculic, which cause pink discolouration in stored eggs when the meal is fed to hens. The oil is used in soap and in paint, and the pressed cake is fed to cattle only in limited amounts. The tree also produces a gum from wounds and is one of the few large trees that regenerates readily in pasture.
Uses & Benefits
The floss fills life jackets, pillows, upholstery and sound insulation, and it is still harvested from wild and planted trees in Asia. The seed is pressed for oil, and the wood is light and soft, used for canoes, for boxes and for plywood.
In West Africa the young leaves are eaten as a vegetable, and the bark and the root are used in medicine for fever and for rheumatism. The tree is sacred in several cultures, planted at shrines and in village centres, and it is protected in some countries for that reason.
Growing from Seed
Kapok seed keeps its power for only a few weeks, so sow it soon after the pods open. Soak it for a day, then sow it in a free-draining mix at 25 to 30 degrees; germination is in two to four weeks. The seedling is fast and can reach two metres in its first year.
The tree wants full sun, deep soil and a frost-free climate, and it tolerates poor soil and short drought once established. It is not hardy below about minus two, and it needs space, since the crown is wide and the roots are shallow and spreading. Plant it away from buildings and from paths, because the roots lift pavement.
Our Take
A tropical giant grown for floss, oil and shade, and a tree that needs a village square rather than a garden.
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