Stats

Lifespan: Up to 300 yrs
Size: Huge
Diet: Photosynthetic
Biome: Tropical rainforest
Range: Neotropics and West Africa
Movement: Sessile
Breeding: Seeds
Defense: Spines
Status: Uncommon

About

The kapok tree can grow to 70 metres tall and produces vast seed pods filled with silky, water-resistant fibres — the same kapok floss historically stuffed into life jackets. Its buttressed trunk can reach 3 metres in diameter and supports a canopy that towers above the tropical forest.

Life cycle

1.
seed
A dormant seed waits for water and warmth before germinating.
2.
sprout
A first shoot emerges with cotyledon leaves and a tap root reaching down.
3.
sapling
A young plant grows true leaves and a stem or trunk, putting on height each season.
4.
mature
Fully grown, flowering or fruiting at adult size.

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Taxonomy

Kingdom: Plantae
Phylum: Tracheophyta
Class: Magnoliopsida
Order: Malvales
Family: Malvaceae
Genus: Ceiba
Species: Ceiba pentandra