Kapok (Ceiba pentandra)
Image courtesy Wikimedia Commons
It’s been quite a while since I needed to stuff a toy, so have no need of kapok. I had never wondered where the material came from until I noticed an illustration somewhere- who knows where? – of a kapok tree. At first, I thought it might be something along the lines of a spaghetti bush, but April 1st has long since passed, so I looked into it.
One of the common names of the kapok tree is the Silk-cotton tree. It is a tropical tree, originating in South America, and later spreading to West Africa and the rainforests of the Malay Peninsula. It can grow to immense heights, with some reported at 252 feet (73 m) tall, though cultivated specimens in south and south-east Asia grow only to 90 feet (27m).
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It towers above the rainforest canopy, providing a habitat for birds and mammals. Its unpleasantly scented flowers open at night and give nectar and pollen for honey bees and bats, though they are pollinated primarily by bats.
The kapok tree drops its leaves in the dry season, after which the seed pods burst to release the pale coloured fibres containing the seeds. The wind then disperses the seeds.
It is known as a sacred tree. Mayan folklore held that the tree stood at the very centre of the earth as the symbol of the universe. The roots reached down into the underworld, the trunk represented the region where people lived, and the branches signified heaven. They believed the souls of the dead would reach heaven by climbing the branches.
The folklore of the people of Trinidad and Tobago claims that Bazil, the Demon of Death, is incarcerated in a vast kapok tree called the Castle of the Devil. He was fooled by a carpenter into entering the tree, in which he had carved a column of seven rooms, though details of the trickery are scant.
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Image courtesy Wikimedia Commons
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Image courtesy Wikimedia Commons
The tree and its products are used in many ways. The fine fibres are no good for spinning but are light and water-resistant and have been used to fill mattresses and upholstery, and for insulation. However, it is highly flammable. Before the advent of synthetic materials, kapok was used in flotation devices.
The trunks are straight and strong, giving excellent timber for dugout canoes, while the leaves, bark and resin have all been used in treating ailments such as dysentery, asthma, and kidney disease. Oil pressed from the seeds has been used in the manufacture of soap, fertiliser, and biofuel.
It even provides shelter for homeless people in the hollows made by the extensive roots or buttresses that support the tree.
It is the
national emblem of Guatemala, Puerto Rico, and Equatorial Guinea.
I've heard of Kapok but always thought it was just cotton waste which is what our childhood mattresses were stuffed with and it became so lumpy over time. The roots on the tree look the same as the huge Moreton Bay Fig trees we have here in Australia.
ReplyDeleteFascinating. I had no idea it was used so extensively.
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