By Liliana Usvat
Blog 303-365
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.
Reforestation
The kapok tree is deciduous, shedding all of its leaves during the dry season. As its seeds are easily blown into open areas, kapok trees are some of the first to colonize open areas in the forest. The white and pink flowers of the kapok tree emit a foul odor that attracts bats.
As the flying mammals move from flower to flower feasting on the nectar, they transfer pollen on their fur, thus facilitating pollination. The kapok tree does a great job at spreading its seeds, producing anywhere between 500 and 4,000 fruits at one time, with each fruit containing 200 seeds. When these fruit burst open, silky fibers spread the many seeds all over the forest.
Due to its content of bitter substance, kapok is not attacked by pests.
Other Names
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.
Medicinal Uses
Ceiba pentandra bark decoction has been used as
Blog 303-365
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.
Reforestation
The kapok tree is deciduous, shedding all of its leaves during the dry season. As its seeds are easily blown into open areas, kapok trees are some of the first to colonize open areas in the forest. The white and pink flowers of the kapok tree emit a foul odor that attracts bats.
As the flying mammals move from flower to flower feasting on the nectar, they transfer pollen on their fur, thus facilitating pollination. The kapok tree does a great job at spreading its seeds, producing anywhere between 500 and 4,000 fruits at one time, with each fruit containing 200 seeds. When these fruit burst open, silky fibers spread the many seeds all over the forest.
Due to its content of bitter substance, kapok is not attacked by pests.
Other Names
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.
Medicinal Uses
Ceiba pentandra bark decoction has been used as
- a diuretic,
- aphrodisiac, and
- to treat headache, as well as
- type II diabetes.
- It is used as an additive in some versions of the hallucinogenic drink Ayahuasca.
The seeds, leaves, bark and resin have been used to treat
- dysentery,
- fever, asthma, and
- kidney disease.
- In Samoa the bark is used for asthma, while
- in the Philippines where trees were planted, the bark is regarded as useful for fever,
- as a diuretic, for
- diarrhoea and
- as a purgative.
- It is also applied to swollen fingers and wounds, while
- an infusion is used as mouthwash.
- decoction of the flowers is given for constipation and
- an infusion of the leaves is used for coughs,
- hoarseness,
- catarrh and
- uterine discharge.
- The tender young leaves are used for gonorrhoea, as are the tender tap roots, which are also used in cases of dysentery.
- The unripe fruit is demulcent, emollient and astringent so useful to soothe the mucous membrane in cases of bronchitis and so on.
- A decoction of the roots is given for diarrhoea and chronic dysentery while
- the gum from the bark is astringent and styptic so good for wound healing.
- It is sometimes given in milk to children who have diarrhoea
Clinical studies have shown that the stem bark has liver protective properties and the tree has antioxidant properties, (leaves and stem bark) while root extracts have been found to have anti-diabetic 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.
Folclore
According to the folklore of Trinidad and Tobago, the Castle of the Devil is a huge kapok growing deep in the forest in which Bazil the demon of death was imprisoned by a carpenter.
The carpenter tricked the devil into entering the tree in which he carved seven rooms, one above the other, into the trunk. Folklore claims that Bazil still resides in that tree
Mayan Culture
In Mayan myths the kapok tree was sacred. They believed that the souls of the dead would climb up into the branches which reached into heaven.
