Ceiba Pentandra
Ceiba pentandra is a tropical tree native to Mexico and Tropical America. Also known as the Kapok or Capock tree, according to Georg Eberhard Rumphius in The Ambonese Herbal, it is used as a fever reducer and headache reliever with anti-inflammatory agents. It contains catechin and beta-sitosterol, both of which have pain relieving and anti-inflammatory agents. In this image, we see a branch of the Ceiba pentandra on display. The bark of the branch is a green color, and grows in an oblique manner, forming a triangle with three branches in total. The leaves grow in bunches of seven to nine in a circle, and have a smooth texture and are bright green. Below the leaves are flowers, which hang in circles. The flowers are large and dirty white, and they have five petals and stand in little green chalices. At the base of the branch lie the fruits, hanging below the flowers, which are closely bunched together. These fruits are round pods and are about half a foot long, green, and inside they are stuffed with wool-like threads. These pods are shaped like cucumbers, but pointed at the front and the back. The surrounding wool-like fibers incase small pear-shaped black seeds, which will fall out if they are shaken. The wool inside of the fruit is sometimes harvested and used in fabrics or filing as alternatives to down. It is white and brittle, but when it plucked it becomes hollow and airy. Plucking the fibers to harvest them is a laborious process, but well worth the effort and preferred to the lumpier cotton due to its airy qualities.