What is the common name of the tall rainforest tree Ceiba pentandra?

The common name of the tall rainforest tree Ceiba pentandra is the kapok tree. It is one of the best-known emergent trees of tropical forests, rising above the canopy with a broad crown and often developing large buttress roots at its base.

The name kapok is also used for the soft, cotton-like fibre surrounding the tree’s seeds. When mature pods split open, the light-coloured fibre helps the seeds disperse on the wind. Kapok is buoyant, water-resistant and resilient, so it was historically used to fill pillows, mattresses, life jackets and upholstery.

Ceiba pentandra is native to tropical parts of the Americas and is also associated with tropical Africa; it has been widely introduced and cultivated in Asia. In Spanish-speaking regions it is commonly called ceiba, while other names include silk-cotton tree, Java cotton and samauma.

It is sometimes confused with Bombax ceiba, an Asian relative that can also be called silk-cotton or kapok. In a standard English-language quiz, however, Ceiba pentandra is conventionally identified as the kapok tree.