Fabaceae / Papilionaceae

Bombacaceae
Ceiba pentandra (L.) Gaertn
(Syn: Bimbax pentandrum L.)
English name: Kapok, Java Cotton, Cotton tree.
Local name: Simal.
Description:
A giant size tree up to 30 m high with spectacular, immense plank buttresses. Its
trunk is straight and cylindrical having grey bark with or without prickles. Flowers
yellow or white and usually appear before the flush of leaves.
Flowering Period:
September-November.
Habitat:
Cultivated in agricultural fields, shade plant at roadsides.
Uses:
Seeds have oils and are eaten ground or roasted. It is
used in stuffing life jackets and pillows. Leaves, barks
and seeds are used in dysentery, fevers, venereal
disease, and menstruation bleeding, asthma and kidney
diseases.
Distribution:
Throughout the tropics of World.
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