Plants: Species

Silk-cotton Tree Bombax ceiba

FAMILY: BOMBACACEAE (Kapok or Durian Family)

Like floss silk trees Chorisia speciosa, silk-cotton trees Bombax ceiba are also members of the Bombacaceae family, and also have pods full of silky fiber. In the case of the silk-cotton trees, however, this fiber is known as kapok and is used commercially for filling mattresses, cushions, and life preservers, and as insulation. The tree's seeds also have beneficial applicaitons. They are pressed to make kapok oil, which is used in foods and soap-making.