Ceiba or Kapok tree in Las Isletas

Miskito Alan &#174

Arlington: I don't believe everything that I read on NicaLiving either.

You were correct the first time.

http://www.ceiba.org/ceiba.htm#botany

The Ceiba Tree by Catherine L. Woodward

The Ceiba Foundation for Tropical Conservation (pronounced "SAY-ba") derives its name from Ceiba pentandra, a majestic tropical tree and appropriate symbol for the complex biological interactions and human connections with the environment that drive our work.

Botanical Description

The genus Ceiba consists of 10 species of large tropical trees in the family Malvaceae (formerly in the Bombacaceae), which also includes the "baobab" trees of Africa (genus Adansonia). Ceiba trees are typically emergent, meaning their large umbrella-shaped canopies emerge above the forest canopy. They are thus among the tallest trees in the tropical forest reaching as high as 60 m in rainforests of the Amazon. Their thick columnar trunks often have large buttresses. Young trunks and branches are armed with thick conical spines, and are often green due to photosynthetic pigments. The leaves are alternate and pinnately compound, with 5-8 entire-margined leaflets. The radially symmetrical flowers can be rather small and inconspicuous (e.g., ~3 cm in Ceiba pentandra) to large (>12 cm) and showy. They are usually white, pinkish-white or red, and leathery. The flowers have 5 stamens fused into a tube at the base. Ceiba fruits are large ellipsoid capsules up to 20 cm long, with 5 woody valves that split open to reveal abundant fluff, or kapok, in which the many small black-brown seeds are embedded. The kapok fibers are not attached to the seeds. The fibers are 1.5 - 3 cm long and are covered with a waxy substance that aids in their water-repellancy.

Uses

Ceibas have had a long commercial history. During the 1940s the fluff, or kapok, that surrounds the seeds was harvested commercially for stuffing life preservers, seat cushions, mattresses and saddles. Being lighter than cotton, buoyant and resistant to saturation by water, it made an excellent filler for life preservers. Until the middle of the 1900's, nearly every stuffed life preserver and upholstered automobile seat was filled with kapok fibers. The tree was cultivated in large plantations in Southeast Asia, not only for its kapok, but also for pulpwood. As modern materials fell more in favor, demand for kapok fluff has fallen, and the Ceiba fruits are no longer harvested commercially.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ceiba

Ceiba is the name of a genus of many species of large trees found in tropical areas, including Mexico, Central and South America, The Bahamas,the Caribbean, West Africa, and Southeast Asia. Some species can grow to 70 meters tall or more, with a straight, largely branchless trunk that culminates in a huge, spreading canopy, and "buttress" roots that can be taller than a grown man. The best-known, and most widely cultivated, species is Kapok, Ceiba pentandra.

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