**5. Kapok (***Ceiba pentandra***)**

#### **5.1 Description**

*C. pentandra* is a tree belonging to Malvaceae family. It is a plant that is found in the wild. The plant is called Kapok or white Silk-Cotton tree in English. It is known as "Araba" in Yoruba, "Akpu-ogwu" in Igbo and "Rimi" in Hausa tribes of Nigeria [134, 135]. *C. pentandra* is a fast-growing tree and can grow up to 24–70 m high, having a diameter of 100–300 cm. Universally, kapok is known to be among the largest trees. The stem and large branches are usually crowded with conical spines (**Figures 10** and **11**). The palmate leaves consist of 5 to 9 leaflets and can be up to 20 cm (7.9 in) in length. The tree produces hundreds of pods measuring 15 cm (5.9in) with seeds surrounded by a fluffy fiber which combines lignin and cellulose (**Figure 12**). In Miami, Florida, one of the oldest known trees lives at 200 years [136]. Kapok fiber is light, water resistant, but it is highly flammable. The harvesting, processing and separating the fiber is done manually and is labor-intensive. Although it is difficult to spin, it is used alternatively to down for filling in mattresses, pillows, upholstery, zafus and stuffed toys like teddy bears and for insulation. Earlier, it was used in making life jackets and similar devices until synthetic materials largely substituted the fiber. Oil extracted from the seeds is used locally in soap and fertilizer production [137].

*Lesser Known African Indigenous Tree and Fruit Plants: Recent Evidence from Literatures… DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.104890*

**Figure 10.** *Kapok plants at 5 months after transplanting.*

**Figure 11.** *Kapok plants at 11 months after transplanting.*
