Kapok tree
It is this time of the year when when kapok also referred to as cotton-like fluff obtained from seed pods spreads across the University of the Philippines at Los Baños.
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. A somewhat smaller variety is found throughout southern Asia and the East Indies. Kapok is the most used common name for the tree and may also refer to the cotton-like fluff obtained from its seed pods. The tree is cultivated for the seed fibre, particularly in south-east Asia, and is also known as the Java cotton, Java kapok, silk-cotton, samauma, or ceiba.
The tree grows to 240 ft (73 m), as confirmed by climbing and tape drop[7] with reports of Kapoks up to 252 feet (77 meters)[8] Trunks can often be up to 3 m (9.8 ft) in diameter above the extensive buttress roots. The very largest individuals, however, can be 19 feet (5.8 meters) thick or more above the buttresses.
The buttress roots can be clearly seen in photographs extending 40 to 50 feet (12 to 15 meters) up the trunk of some specimens[12] and extending out from the trunk as much as 65 feet (20 meters) and then continuing below ground to a total length of 165 feet (50 meters). Source: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ceiba_pentandra
Kapok tree
It is this time of the year when when kapok also referred to as cotton-like fluff obtained from seed pods spreads across the University of the Philippines at Los Baños.
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. A somewhat smaller variety is found throughout southern Asia and the East Indies. Kapok is the most used common name for the tree and may also refer to the cotton-like fluff obtained from its seed pods. The tree is cultivated for the seed fibre, particularly in south-east Asia, and is also known as the Java cotton, Java kapok, silk-cotton, samauma, or ceiba.
The tree grows to 240 ft (73 m), as confirmed by climbing and tape drop[7] with reports of Kapoks up to 252 feet (77 meters)[8] Trunks can often be up to 3 m (9.8 ft) in diameter above the extensive buttress roots. The very largest individuals, however, can be 19 feet (5.8 meters) thick or more above the buttresses.
The buttress roots can be clearly seen in photographs extending 40 to 50 feet (12 to 15 meters) up the trunk of some specimens[12] and extending out from the trunk as much as 65 feet (20 meters) and then continuing below ground to a total length of 165 feet (50 meters). Source: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ceiba_pentandra