Kapok

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Kapok

Kapok (Ceiba pentandra) is a tropical tree

TREE

TREE was a Boston hardcore punk band formed in the summer of 1990. They were active in the Boston music scene until disbanding in 2002....
of the order

Order (biology)

In Biological classification used in biology, the order is a taxonomic rank between class and family . The superorder is a rank between class and order....
Malvales
Malvales

Malvales is the name of an Scientific classification of flowering plants. As circumscribed by Angiosperm Phylogeny Group-system, it includes about 6000 species within nine Scientific classification....
and the family

Family (biology)

In biological classification, family is a taxonomic rank. Exact details of formal nomenclature depend on the Nomenclature Codes which applies....
Malvaceae
Malvaceae

Malvaceae, or the mallow family, is a family of flowering plants containing over 200 genera with close to 2,300 species. Judd & al. The largest genera in terms of number of species include Hibiscus , Sterculia , Dombeya , Pavonia and Sida ....
(previously separated in the family Bombacaceae
Bombacaceae

The name Bombacaceae is a botanical name at the rank of family, which is now widely considered obsolete. As is true for any botanical name, circumscription and status of the taxon has varied with taxonomic point of view....
), native to Mexico

Mexico

The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federalism constitutionalism republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of Mexico....
, Central America

Central America

Central America is a central geography region of the Americas. It is the southernmost, isthmus portion of the North American continent, which connects with South America on the southeast....
and the Caribbean

Caribbean

The Caribbean is a region consisting of the Caribbean Sea, its islands , and the surrounding coasts. The region is located southeast of the Gulf of Mexico and Northern America, east of Central America, and to the north of South America....
, northern South America

South America

South America is the southern continent of the Americas, situated entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere....
, and (as the variety C. pentandra var. guineensis) to tropical west Africa

Africa

Africa is the world's second-largest and second most-populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km? including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area....
.

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Encyclopedia

Kapok (Ceiba pentandra) is a tropical tree

TREE

TREE was a Boston hardcore punk band formed in the summer of 1990. They were active in the Boston music scene until disbanding in 2002....
of the order

Order (biology)

Family (biology)

Mexico

Central America

Caribbean

South America

Africa

Seed

A seed is a small Plant embryogenesis plant enclosed in a covering called the seed coat, usually with some Food storage. It is the product of the ripened ovule of gymnosperm and angiosperm plants which occurs after fertilization and some growth within the mother plant....
pod

POD

POD may refer to:...
s. The tree is also known as the Java cotton, Java kapok, or ceiba

Ceiba

Ceiba is the name of a genus of many species of large trees found in tropical areas, including Mexico, Central America and South America, The Bahamas, Belize and the Caribbean, West Africa, and Southeast Asia....
. It is a sacred symbol in Maya mythology.

The tree of life 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

Spine (botany)

Spines are leaves that have been modified into cylindrical, hard structures with sharp ends. They are occasionally called thorn , which is incorrect ....
. The leaves

Leaf

In botany, a leaf is an above-ground plant Organ specialized for photosynthesis. For this purpose, a leaf is typically flat and thin, to expose the cells containing chloroplast to light over a broad area, and to allow light to penetrate fully into the tissues....
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

Lignin

Lignin or lignen is a complex chemical compound most commonly derived from wood, and an integral part of the secondary cell walls of plants and some algae....
and cellulose

Cellulose

File:Cellulose Sessel.svgCellulose is an organic compound with the chemical formula , a polysaccharide consisting of a linear chain of several hundred to over ten thousand ? linked D-glucose units....
.

Uses

The fibre is light, very buoyant

Buoyancy

In physics, buoyancy is the upward force that keeps things afloat. The net upward buoyancy force is equal to the magnitude of the weight of fluid displaced by the body....
, resilient, highly flammable

Flammability

Flammability is defined at how easily something will burn or ignite, causing fire or combustion. The degree of difficulty required to cause the combustion of a substance is subject to quantification through fire testing....
and resistant to water

Water

Water is a common chemical substance that is essential for the survival of all known forms of life. In typical usage, water refers only to its liquid form or States of matter, but the substance also has a solid state, ice, and a gaseous state, water vapor or steam....
. The process of harvesting and separating the fibre is labour-intensive and manual. It is difficult to spin

Spinning (textiles)

Spinning is an ancient textile arts in which fiber crop, animal fiber or synthetic fiber fibers are twisted together to form yarn . For thousands of years, fiber was spun by hand using simple tools, the Spindle and distaff....
but is used as an alternative to down

Down feathers

The down of birds is a layer of fine feathers found under the tougher exterior feathers. Very young birds are clad only in down. Down is a fine thermal insulator and padding, used in goods such as jackets, bedding, pillows and sleeping bags....
as filling in mattress

Mattress

A 'mattress' is a mat or pad, usually placed on top of a bed, upon which to sleep or lie.The word mattress is derived from Arabic language words meaning "to throw" and "place where something is thrown" or "mat, cushion." During the Crusades, Europeans adopted the Arabic method of sleeping on cushions thrown on the floor, and the word m...
es, pillow

Pillow

File:Pillows_in_the_corner.jpgA pillow is a large cushion support for the head , usually used while sleeping in a bed, or for the body as used on a couch or chair....
s, upholstery

Upholstery

Upholstery is the work of providing furniture, especially chairs, with padding, Spring s, webbing, and textile or leather covers. The word upholstery comes from the Middle English words up and holden, meaning to hold up....
, teddy bear

Teddy bear

The teddy bear is a stuffed toy bear. It is an enduring, traditional form of a stuffed animal, often serving the purpose of comforting children....
s, zafu

Zafu

A zafu is a round cushion, about 35 cm in diameter, and often about 20 cm high, when fluffed. Although in U.S. English, zafu is often translated as "sewn seat", that is not the meaning of the Japanese kanji....
s and for insulation

Thermal insulation

The term thermal insulation can refer to materials used to reduce the rate of heat transfer, or the methods and processes used to reduce heat transfer....
. It was previously much used in life jackets

Personal flotation device

A personal flotation device is a device designed to assist a wearer, either conscious or unconscious, to keep afloat with his or her mouth and nose of his or her head's face above the water surface when in or on water....
and similar devices. Man-made materials largely replaced the fibre, until recently. The seeds produce an oil

Oil

An oil is a chemical substance that is in a viscosity liquid state at room temperature or slightly warmer, and is both hydrophobic and lipophilic ....
used locally in soap

SOAP

SOAP, originally defined as Simple Object Access Protocol, is a protocol specification for exchanging structured information in the implementation of Web Services in computer networks....
and that can be used as fertilizer

Fertilizer

Fertilizers are chemical compounds given to plants to promote growth; they are usually applied either through the soil, for uptake by plant roots, or by foliar feeding, for uptake through leaves....
.

In Southeast Asia

Southeast Asia

Southeast Asia or Southeastern Asia is a subregion of Asia, consisting of the countries that are geographically south of China, east of India and north of Australia....
n countries kapok has larger seed pods and the fibre which is highly flammable is used as a fuel in fire piston

Fire piston

A fire piston, sometimes called a fire syringe, is a device of ancient origin which is used to kindle fire. It uses the principle of the heating of a gas by its rapid compression to ignite a piece of tinder, which is then used to set light to kindling....
s, in Thailand

Thailand

The Kingdom of Thailand is an independent country that lies in the heart of Southeast Asia. It is bordered to the north by Laos and Myanmar, to the east by Laos and Cambodia, to the south by the Gulf of Thailand and Malaysia, and to the west by the Andaman Sea and Myanmar....
called taban fai .

The commercial tree is most heavily cultivated in Asia

Asia

Asia is the world's largest and most populous continent. It covers 8.6% of the Earth's total surface area and, with over 4 billion people, it contains more than 60% of the world's current human population....
, notably in Java (hence its nicknames), Philippines

Philippines

The Philippines, officially known as the Republic of the Philippines, is a country in Southeast Asia with Manila as its capital city. It comprises 7,107 islands in the western Pacific Ocean....
, and Malaysia

Malaysia

Malaysia is a federation that consists of States of Malaysia in Southeast Asia with a total landmass of . The capital city is Kuala Lumpur, while Putrajaya is the seat of the federal government....
, but also in South America.

This tree is the official national tree of Puerto Rico

Puerto Rico

Puerto Rico , officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico , is a Autonomy Territories of the United States of the United States located in the northeastern Caribbean, east of the Dominican Republic and west of the Virgin Islands....
.

Ethnomedical uses

Ceiba pentandra bark decoction

Decoction

A decoction is a method of solvent extraction of herbal or plant material, which includes, but is not limited to:*Stems*Roots*Barkand*Rhizomes....
has been used as a diuretic

Diuretic

A diuretic is any drug that elevates the rate of urination and thus provides a means of forced diuresis. There are several categories of diuretics....
, aphrodisiac

Aphrodisiac

An aphrodisiac is a substance which is used in the belief that it increases sexual desire. The name comes from Aphrodite, the Greek mythology of sensuality....
, and to treat headache, as well as type II diabetes.

Ceiba pentandra is used as an additive to some versions of the hallucinogenic drink Ayahuasca

Ayahuasca

Ayahuasca is any of various psychoactive infusions or decoctions prepared from the Banisteriopsis caapi vine, usually mixed with the leaves of the Psychotria bush....
.

Kapok

Uses

Ethnomedical uses

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