# Kapok (Ceiba pentandra)

> A giant emergent of tropical forest with a straight grey trunk studded with prickles when young, enormous plank buttresses and a flat-topped crown far above the canopy. It is sacred to the Maya and the national tree of Guatemala and Puerto Rico, and its seed pods yield kapok, the buoyant stuffing fibre. Leafless for months, it is a pioneer that colonises clearings quickly, and its size and roots suit only plazas, parks and farmland.

Source: https://treerm.org/trees/ceiba-pentandra · Updated 2026-11-08 · License CC BY 4.0

## Facts

- Also called: Ceiba, Silk-cotton tree, Sumaúma, Fromager
- Family: Malvaceae
- Type: Broadleaf, drops leaves
- Mature height: 30 m; spread 17 m
- Growth: Fast growing; lives about 300 years
- USDA hardiness zones: 10 to 12
- Light: Full sun
- Water: Moderate water
- Soil: Deep, permeable volcanic loam free from waterlogging
- Native range: Native to the tropical Americas from Mexico and the Caribbean through Central America to Brazil, Peru and Bolivia; WCVP treats West and Central African populations as introduced, though many botanists consider the species native there too.

**Benefits:** Shade, Wildlife, Birds, Pollinators, Fast canopy, Long lived, Stores carbon well

**Good for:** parks, Agroforestry, Reforestation

**Watch out for:** Large roots, Surface roots, Thorns, Heavy litter

## Care

Plant in full sun in deep soil, cutting rank growth around seedlings for the first two years until they overtop weeds; taungya intercropping is traditional. Needs no watering after establishment. Give it an enormous root run away from paving and buildings. Defoliating caterpillars, mistletoe and wood-rotting fungi attack it; the soft timber is vulnerable to insects.

## Where it stands

- **Native:** Brazil (Amazon and north-east); Colombia; Costa Rica; Cuba; Guatemala (National tree); Mexico; Peru; Puerto Rico (National tree of Puerto Rico)
- **Adapted:** Ghana (Introduced per WCVP (long established and often treated as native in West Africa)); Indonesia (Introduced; Java was the main kapok producer); India (Introduced per WCVP); Nigeria (Introduced per WCVP)

## Sources

- https://apps.worldagroforestry.org/treedb2/speciesprofile.php?Spid=501
- https://apps.worldagroforestry.org/treedb/AFTPDFS/Ceiba_pentandra.PDF
- https://www.gbif.org/species/5406697
- https://www.missouribotanicalgarden.org/PlantFinder/PlantFinderDetails.aspx?taxonid=277950