Tree and white stuff: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ceiba_pentandra
Underside of tree: http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Ceiba_pentandra_0006.jpg thorns: tree with white stuff: http://www.visoflora.com/photos-nature/photo-ceiba-pentandra-2.html http://isadebenya.blogspot.com/2011/11/ceiba-pentandra.html |
CEIBA PENTANDRACeibra Pentandra, most commonly known as Kapok, grows to a staggering 150 meters with a trunk of 3 meters in diameter with buttresses. The Kapok produces several hundred pods containing seeds surrounded by a fluffy, yellowish fiber.
This fiber is used for many purposes. Although the process of harvesting and separating the fiber is labor intensive, it is used as the filling in mattresses, pillows, insulation, and stuffed toys. The seeds also produce an oil that is used in soap and fertilizer. Many plants and animals live in the branches of the kapok tree; birds nest in it, mammals uses the high branches as highways, and frogs breed in the pools of water that collects in the leaves. Kapoks are drought deciduous which means that the tree sheds almost all of its leaves during the tropical dry season. The odor is unpleasant but is meant to attract bats to pollinate them. Kapoks are found throughout the world and occupy an important niche in the ecosystem. |