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Cotton Tree Facts
Cotton Tree Facts. The cotton tree (Ceiba sp.) grows native to tropical Africa and America. Also called the kapok tree or the cotton silk tree, some species have also been introduced to China. Often found growing along streets in the tropics, the cottony fibers that form inside its fruits offer many uses. The National Tree of Guatemala, the Ceiba...
The cotton tree (Ceiba sp.) grows native to tropical Africa and America. Also called the kapok tree or the cotton silk tree, some species have also been introduced to China. Often found growing along streets in the tropics, the cottony fibers that form inside its fruits offer many uses. The National Tree of Guatemala, the Ceiba tree is held as sacred, and many see it as a symbol of life, unity and strength.
Ceiba Tree Description
Ceiba have thick trunks and branches dotted with a layer of sharp thorns. A deciduous tree, the cotton tree sheds all its leaves during the dry season in the tropics. With a growth rate of around 6 feet per year, a fully grown tree reaches heights upward of 80 feet. The palm-like foliage bears five to nine leaflets stretching 3 inches long and a mere 1 inch wide.
Flowers
The flowers on cotton trees bloom from December to February, before the leaves open, and cluster together on new branches. The stately white pink flowers open to reveal five petals, which sometimes curl over and a multitude of thin stamens fanning out from the middle. Once pollinated, the flowers mature into long oval capsules, becoming kapok, or fruit.
Fruit
The first crop of fruit forms on the cotton tree seven to 10 years into the tree's lifespan. Oftentimes, the trees produce only every other year after the initial crop. A rough, gray husk casing surrounds small oily seeds and thick, glossy fibers called kapok silk. During each production year, anywhere from 600 to 4,000 fruits may form.
Uses
The most prized part of the Ceiba or cotton tree lies in the kapok fruit. Often stuffed into pillows and mattresses, the silky fibers have become a large commercial demand because they do not cause allergies, according to FLAAR Mesoamerica. The lightweight wood also is used to make canoes, rafts, model airplanes, carved wood and paper and matchstick boxes.
The oil from the seeds can be consumed and also goes to making soap. Even the flower calyx has a use in pipes.
Significance
For the people of Guatemala, Tree Day falls on May 22, and people come together to celebrate the cotton tree as the national tree. Proposed by botanist Ulises Rojas, the Ceiba pentandra became the national tree in 1955. To the people of Guatemala, according to FLAAR Mesoamerica, the tree represents life, union, perpetuity and beauty.
