Accession Data:
Ceiba pentandra (L.) Gaertn.
sect. Ceiba
- Common Name: Kapok Tree
- Family: Malvaceae Juss.
- Country of Origin: tropical America; also found in western tropical Africa
- Description: A large deciduous tree from the American tropics, it is also found (as Ceiba pentandra var. guineensis) in western tropical Africa where it is the tallest tree found on that continent. It is known for the cotton-like fiber around the seeds which is used for flotation devices. Young leaves are cooked and eaten.
Tree to 150' or more, branches widely spreading, spiny trunk (prickles) often to 9 feet in diameter, with thin buttresses sometimes extending 30 feet; leaflets 5-7, oblong-lanceolate, to 6 inches long, entire; flowers usually opening before the leaves appear, calyx 4-5 lobed, to 1/2" long, petals yellowish, rose or white, oblong-ovate), and broadly tapering to each end; wider than oblanceolate.">obovate, to 1 3/8" long, tomentose outside; capsule ellisoid to fusiform, 4-10 inches long.
Cultivated for kapok, produced mainly in Ceylon, Java and the Phillipine Islands.
- Uses: MEDICINAL PROPERTIES
Plant pacifies vitiated pitta, wounds, ulcers, skin diseases, hemorrhoids, urinary calculus, cystitis, inflammations, cough, bronchitis and dark discolorations on face.
Useful part : Resin, Leaves, Bark, Thorns.
from Aryuvedicmedicinalplants.com
- IMPORTANT NOTE: Plant Uses are for informational purposes only. EEB Greenhouses assume no responsibility for adverse effects from the use of any plants referred to on this site. Always seek advice from a professional before using any plant medicinally.
- USDA Zone: 9b-11
Accession Data:
- Accession # 198500310
- Source: Unknown
- Provenance:
Grown from seed collected in Puerto RIco by F.H. Wolfe.
- Recorded Vouchers:
- Voucher 158918 at George Safford Torrey Herbarium (CONN). Specimen collected 5 May 1969. Herbarium Image
- Accession Date: 12-31-1985
- Bench: 1103 - AFR:Ground Bed 1 NE
- Currently: active - healthy
- Qty: 1 confirmed on 02-26-2025
Classification:
- Division: Magnoliophyta
- Class: Magnoliopsida
- SubClass: eurosid II
- Order: Malvales
- SubOrder:
- Family: Malvaceae
- SubFamily: Bombacoideae
- Tribe: Adansonieae
- SubTribe:
Flowering Data:
This accession has been observed in bloom on:| Year | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| 2025 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2024 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2023 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2022 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2021 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2020 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2019 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
References (internal):
- Medicinal Plants
- Bat Pollinated (chiropterophily)
- Fiber Plants
- Type Species
- Plants with Extrafloral Nectaries
- Plants with Vouchers deposited in CONN
- EEB Greenhouse Holdings native to: Mexico Central / Mexico Northeast / Mexico Gulf / Mexico Northwest / Mexico Southwest / Mexico Southeast / Belize / Nicaragua / Panama / Bahamas / Cuba / Dominican Republic / Haiti / Jamaica / Leeward Is. / Puerto Rico / Trinidad-Tobago / Windward Is. / French Guiana / Guyana / Suriname / Venezuela / Bolivia / Colombia / Ecuador / Galapagos / Brazil Northeast / Brazil North
References (external):
- California Rare Fruit Growers WWW Site
- Botanica, Turner & Wasson, 1997, CD-ROM Version
- Hortus Third, LH Bailey Hortorium, 1976
- The Plant List (2013). Version 1.1. Accessed 28 September 2015.
- Ceiba pentandra at GBIF. Last accessed on Thursday, September 08, 2016.
- Ceiba pentandra at Wikipedia. Last accessed on Thursday, September 08, 2016.
data regenerated on Fri, 02 May 2025 15:00:05 -0400 [bcm v4.0]
Images:
Additional images for this accession:
Click on thumbnails to enlarge
Current Accessions in the Malvaceae
Subfamily Bombacoideae
Tribe Adansonieae
- Adansonia digitata
- Adansonia grandidieri
- Adansonia za
- Ceiba acuminata
- Ceiba pentandra
- Ceiba speciosa
- Pachira aquatica
- Pachira aquatica
- Pachira glabra
- Pseudobombax ellipticum
Subfamily Byttneroideae
Tribe Hermannieae
Subfamily Byttneroideae
Tribe Theobromeae
Subfamily Dombeyoideae
Tribe Dombeyeae
Subfamily Grewioideae
Tribe Grewieae
Subfamily Grewioideae
Tribe Sparrmannieae
Subfamily Malvoideae
Tribe Gossypieae
Subfamily Malvoideae
Tribe Hibisceae
- Hibiscus acetosella 'Haight Ashbury'
- Hibiscus rosa-sinensis cv. (yellow)
- Hibiscus tilliaceus
- Lagunaria patersonia
- Pavonia strictiflora
Subfamily Malvoideae
Tribe Malveae
Subfamily Sterculioideae
Tribe Sterculieae
W/C = Wild Collected
= indicates flowering in past 14 days
= images available for this accession
= map available for this accession
= accession added within past 90 days