Kapok

Kapok

:"For the children's book, see The Great Kapok Tree".taxobox
name = Kapok


image_caption = Kapok planted in Honolulu, Hawaii
regnum = Plantae
unranked_divisio = Angiosperms
unranked_classis = Eudicots
unranked_ordo = Rosids
ordo = Malvales
familia = Malvaceae
genus = "Ceiba"
species = "C. pentandra"
binomial = "Ceiba pentandra"
binomial_authority = (L.) Gaertn.|

Kapok ("Ceiba pentandra") is a tropical tree of the order "Malvales" and the family "Malvaceae" (previously separated in the family "Bombacaceae"), native to Mexico, Central America and the Caribbean, northern South America, and (as the variety "C. pentandra" var. "guineensis") to tropical west Africa. The word is also used for the fibre obtained from its seed pods. The tree is also known as the Java cotton, Java kapok, or ceiba. It is a sacred symbol in Maya mythology.

The tree 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. The leaves 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 and cellulose.

Uses

The fibre is light, very buoyant, resilient, highly flammable and resistant to water. The process of harvesting and separating the fibre is labour-intensive and manual. It cannot be spun but is used as an alternative to down as filling in mattresses, pillows, upholstery, teddy bears, zafus and for insulation. It was previously much used in life jackets and similar devices. The fibre has been largely replaced by man-made materials. The seeds produce an oil used locally in soap and that can be used as fertilizer.

In Southeast Asian countries kapok has larger seed pods and the fibre which is highly flammable is used as a fuel in fire pistons, in Thailand called taban fai [http://www.thailex.info/THAILEX/THAILEXENG/LEXICON/t.htm#taban%20fai%20(ตะบันไฟ) ตะบันไฟ] .

The commercial tree is most heavily cultivated in Asia, notably in Java (hence its nicknames), Philippines, and Malaysia, but also in South America.

A similar fibre is found in the Indian "Bombax ceiba" (also known as "Bombax malabaricum" or "silk-cotton tree"). It is termed Indian kapok and is darker in colour and less buoyant than the true variety.Another species, the Kapok Bush "Aerva javanica", produces a material that is used for stuffing pillows.Cite book|title=Wanggalili; Yinjibarndi and Ngarluma Plants|author=Burndud|publisher= Juluwarlu Aboriginal Corporation |date=1990|page=19]

This tree is the official national tree of Puerto Rico.

Ethnomedical uses

"Ceiba pentandra" bark decoction has been used as a diuretic, aphrodisiac, 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. [ [http://www.serendipity.li/dmt/hoasca.html#tbl1 Ayahuasca Analogues] ]

References

* [http://www.ars-grin.gov/cgi-bin/npgs/html/taxon.pl?9703 Germplasm Resources Information Network: "Ceiba pentandra"]
* [http://www.thailex.info/THAILEX/THAILEXENG/LEXICON/kapok.htm The larger seed pods of SEA kapok and its use as a fuel in fire pistons]
* [http://www.westafricanplants.senckenberg.de/root/index.php?page_id=14&id=299 Ceiba pentandra] in Brunken, U., Schmidt, M., Dressler, S., Janssen, T., Thombiano, A. & Zizka, G. 2008. West African plants - A Photo Guide. Forschungsinstitut Senckenberg, Frankfurt/Main.

Gallery

Gallery of "Ceiba pentandra" & Birds/a Bat on it


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Look at other dictionaries:

  • kapok — kapok …   Dictionnaire des rimes

  • kapok — [ kapɔk ] n. m. • capok 1680; malais kapuk ♦ Techn. Fibre végétale, imperméable, imputrescible et très légère, constituée par les poils fins et soyeux qui recouvrent les graines du kapokier. Coussin rembourré de kapok. ● kapok nom masculin… …   Encyclopédie Universelle

  • Kapok — Ka*pok , n. [Prob. fr. the native name.] (Bot.) A silky wool derived from the seeds of {Ceiba pentandra} (syn. {Eriodendron anfractuosum}), a bombaceous tree of the East and West Indies. [Webster 1913 Suppl.] …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Kapok — (Ceibawolle), das seine seidige Haar, das in der Frucht von Ceiba pentandra (Eriodendron anfractuosum) die Samen umgibt, aber nicht wie die Baumwolle von diesen ausgeht, sondern den Geweben der Frucht zuzuzählen ist. Der Baum wächst in Indien und …   Meyers Großes Konversations-Lexikon

  • Kapok — Kapok, s. Polstermaterialien …   Lexikon der gesamten Technik

  • Kapok — Kapok, Pflanzendunen, die Wollhaare von Eriodendron (s.d.) und Bombax (s.d.) …   Kleines Konversations-Lexikon

  • kapok — 1735, from Malay kapoq, name of the large tropical tree which produces the fibers …   Etymology dictionary

  • kapok — kàpok m <N mn oci> DEFINICIJA bot. tropsko drvo (Ceiba pentandra) iz porodice Bombacaceae (s otoka Jave); mekane celulozne dlake iz plodova služe za punjenje jastuka, strunjača i dr. ETIMOLOGIJA mal …   Hrvatski jezični portal

  • kapok — {{/stl 13}}{{stl 8}}rz. mnż IIa, D. a {{/stl 8}}{{stl 7}} kamizelka ratunkowa wypchana miękkim włóknem niewrażliwym na wilgoć, mogącym utrzymywać na wodzie duży ciężar <jawajskie> {{/stl 7}} …   Langenscheidt Polski wyjaśnień

  • kapok — ► NOUN ▪ a fine fibrous substance which grows around the seeds of a tropical tree, used as stuffing for cushions, soft toys, etc. ORIGIN Malay …   English terms dictionary

  • kapok — [kā′päk΄] n. [Malay] the silky fibers around the seeds of any of several silk cotton trees, esp. a ceiba (Ceiba pentandra): used for stuffing mattresses, life preservers, sleeping bags, etc …   English World dictionary

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