Kapok
Ceiba pentandra (L.) Gaertn.
Kapok (Ceiba pentandra) is a huge tropical tree; the pods are packed with lightweight, water-resistant fibres used to stuff pillows, life jackets and bedding; the seeds yield oil; Saigon is said to take its name from the gòn tree.
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Kapok — Fibres (product)Kapok — Tree
Kapok — Branch & leaves
Kapok — Flowers
Kapok — Fruit
Kapok — Trunk & barkKapok — Fibres (product)Kapok — TreeOverview
Kapok (Ceiba pentandra), also called silk-cotton or Java cotton tree, is a huge tree of the mallow family (Malvaceae) native to tropical America (Mexico, Central America, the Caribbean, northern South America) and West Africa. It reaches 60–70 m, with a trunk up to 3 m in diameter, large buttress roots at the base, and many hard spines on the trunk and old branches. The palmately compound leaves bear 5–9 leaflets; the tree sheds them in the dry season. The large flowers, with thick white to pale pink petals, open before the new leaves and are pollinated by bats and insects.
Updated by lebachungtdh@gmail.com · 10/10/2026
The ovoid capsule, 15–20 cm long, splits when ripe to reveal masses of white fibres around the seeds. Kapok fibre is soft, extremely light, resilient and resistant to water but highly flammable; it has long been used to stuff pillows, quilts, mattresses and life jackets and for insulation, largely replaced by synthetics since the late 20th century. The seeds yield oil for soap-making, with the press cake used as fertiliser; the light, soft wood serves for boxes and plywood. The tree is sacred in Maya mythology, and in Vietnam the name Saigon is thought to derive from this tree.
Updated by lebachungtdh@gmail.com · 10/10/2026
Life cycle
From seed to productTree
A huge broad-crowned tree with buttress roots.
Branch & leaves
Palmately compound leaves on spiny branches.
Flowers
Large white-pink flowers opening before leaves.
Fruit
Capsule splitting to reveal the fibres.
Distribution & origin
Share of recorded occurrences by region- Tropical America (Mexico, Central America, Caribbean)35%
- Northern South America15%
- Planted in Southeast Asia (Java, Philippines, Malaysia, Vietnam)25%
- Tropical West Africa15%
- China, India & others10%
Chemical composition
Relative content in agarwood resin- Cellulose & lignin70%
- Water10%
- Minerals8%
- Fats & waxes7%
- Protein3%
- Other substances2%
Uses
- Fibre: kapok stuffs pillows, quilts, mattresses, life jackets and acoustic insulation; largely replaced by synthetics since the late 20th century
- Timber: light, soft and porous — boxes, plywood, rafts and insulating material
- Folk medicine: bark decoction as diuretic for headaches; seeds pressed for soap oil, press cake as fertiliser
- Landscape & culture: a sacred tree to the Maya; in Vietnam the gòn tree is linked to the name Saigon — planted for shade with huge buttress roots
Properties
- Form
- Huge deciduous tree
- Product
- Kapok fibre
- Hallmark
- Light, water-resistant, highly flammable
- Uses
- Pillows, bedding, life jackets; seed oil
Habitat & conservation
Kapok is native to tropical America (Mexico, Central America, the Caribbean, northern South America) and tropical West Africa, and is now widely planted across Asia, especially Java, the Philippines, Malaysia, China and Vietnam. It favours hot humid climates, sheds its leaves in the dry season, grows well in deep loose soils and tolerates drought. In Vietnam the gòn tree once grew widely in Saigon and the south — the name Saigon is thought to derive from the tree — and its fibres stuffed traditional pillows, quilts and mattresses.
Conservation
Assessed by IUCN as Least Concern (LC). Mallow family (Malvaceae), genus Ceiba.
References
- 1Plants of the World Online — Ceiba pentandra (L.) Gaertn. — Kew Science, 2026
- 2Ceiba pentandra (kapok) — mô tả, phân bố, sử dụng — Wikipedia tiếng Anh, 2026
- 3Bông gòn — đặc điểm, công dụng — Wikipedia tiếng Việt, 2026
- 4吉贝 Ceiba pentandra — 形態、纖維用途 — Wikipedia tiếng Trung, 2026
- 5Nguồn ảnh: Larry D. Moore (CC BY 4.0) / Basile Morin (CC BY-SA 4.0) / Pauloleong2002 (CC BY-SA 4.0) — Wikimedia Commons,
- 6Nguồn ảnh: Hannes Grobe (CC BY-SA 2.5) / WU Hung Ting miucu (CC BY-SA 4.0) / CEphoto, Uwe Aranas (CC BY-SA 3.0) — Wikimedia Commons,