Ceiba

Ceiba tree

Description

A giant silk cotton tree, Ceiba pentandra, native to tropical regions of west Africa, southeast Asia, and cultivated in Central America. Ceiba wood is lightweight and not very strong. It does not hold screws well, but the logs have been used for many carved items including canoes and dugout boats. The tree is cultivated for its seeds which produce kapok fibers.

See also kapok.

Synonyms and Related Terms

Ceiba pentandra; kapokier (Fr.); bois coton(Fr.); fromager (Fr.); sumaúma (Port.); silk cotton tree; kapok tree; Honduras cottonwood; Java cotton; java kapok

Authority

• F. H. Titmuss, Commercial Timbers of the World, The Technical Press Ltd., London, 1965 Comment: Ceiba pentandra

• Random House, Webster's Encyclopedic Unabridged Dictionary of the English Language, Grammercy Book, New York, 1997

• The American Heritage Dictionary or Encarta, via Microsoft Bookshelf 98, Microsoft Corp., 1998 Comment: Ceiba pentandra

• Encyclopedia Britannica, http://www.britannica.com Comment: "kapok" Encyclopædia Britannica from Encyclopædia Britannica Premium Service.Kapok tree = Ceiba pentandra [Accessed May 5, 2004].