Herbarium JCB

Ceiba pentandra (L.) Gaertn.

Family : BOMBACACEAE
(BOMBAX FAMILY or KAPOK FAMILY )
Family (as per The Plant List) : Malvaceae
Species : Ceiba pentandra
Basionym : Bombax pentandrum L.
Species Name (as per The Plant List) : Ceiba pentandra (L.) Gaertn.
Common name : Kapok Tree, White Silk Cotton Tree
Vernacular name : Safed Simal (Hin.); Bili buruga, Haasige hati mara (Kan.); Elavam (Tam.); Swetasalmali (San.)
Key identification features : A tall deciduous tree with buttressed trunk. Three or more branches are given out at the same height of the trunk. Bark green when young becoming pale upon age with spiny projections. Leaves palmate, 5-9 foliolate, glabrous with an entire margin. Flowers are in clusters, often white to cream in colour. Fruit is ovoid-oblong, dark green in colour enclosing numerous winged seeds embedded in a cottony mass.
Habit : Tree
Flower, Fruit : January-June
Native : Tropical Africa
Comments : Often planted on hilly plains up to 800 m.
Conservation Status : Not Evaluated (NE)
Distribution Locality : Throughout Eastern Ghats
World Distribution : Tropics of the World
Literature : Pullaiah et al., 2002 - Flora of Eastern Ghats Vol. 1; H.O. Saxena & M. Brahmam, 1994- Flora of Orissa Vol. 1 ; R. S. Rao et al., 1986 - Flora of West Godavari District ; R. S. Rao and S. H. Sreeramulu, 1986 - Flora of Srikakulam District; Matthew, K.M., The Flora of Tamil Nadu Carnatic, Vol.3 (1). Diocesan Press, Madras. 1983.
Citation : Sankara Rao, K., Arun Singh R., Deepak Kumar, Raja K Swamy and Navendu Page (2016). Digital Flora of Eastern Ghats. http://easternghats.ces.iisc.ernet.in/plants.php?name=Ceiba pentandra. Downloaded on 23 November 2024.