Costa Rica
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Tree Species (Scientific Name)
Ceiba pentandra
Food
Livestock Forage
Firewood
Lumber
Medicinal
Ornamental
Product
Ceremonial
English Common Name
Kapok Tree
Costa Rican Common Name
Ceiba, lano, copo
Tree Family
Malvaceae
Average Leaf Size (cm)
20cm
Length
×
20cm
Width
Tree Height
Large (> 35m)
Elevational Range (m)
0–2000m
0 3000
Distribution
Native
Exotic
Native to Costa Rica

Native to

Region
Americas
Latin America
Bahamas, Belize, Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, French Guiana, Guatemala, Guyana, Haiti, Honduras, Jamaica, Leeward Islands, Mexico, Netherlands Antilles, Nicaragua, Panama, Peru, Puerto Rico, Southwest Caribbean, Suriname, Trinidad-Tobago, Venezuela, Windward Islands
Costa Rica
Alajuela, Cartago, Guanacaste, Heredia, Limón, Puntarenas, San José

Exotic in

Andaman Islands, Angola, Assam, Bangladesh, Benin, Burkina, Burundi, Cabinda, Cambodia, Cameroon, Caroline Islands, Central African Republic, Chad, Chagos Archipelago, China, Comoros, Congo, Cook Islands, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Fiji, Gabon, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Gulf Of Guinea, India, Ivory Coast, Laos, Lesser Sunda Islands, Liberia, Malawi, Mali, Marianas, Marquesas, Marshall Islands, Mozambique, Nauru, Nicobar Islands, Niger, Nigeria, Niue, Samoa, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Society Islands, Somalia, Sri Lanka, Sudan, Sulawesi, Tanzania, Thailand, Tonga, Tuamotu Archipelago, Tubuai Islands, Uganda, Vanuatu, Vietnam, Yemen, Zaire, Zambia

Coffee Agroforestry Information

Coffee System
Arabica
Coffee Impact
Beneficial to coffee
Cultivation
Planted
Natural
Regeneration
Regenerates Naturally
Tree Management
Stem cuttings 1 to 2 meters long can also be planted directly into the ground. The seeds are dispersed by the wind. Trees of this species drop their leaves during the dry season. It has a low incidence of pests.
Climate Change Adaptability
unknown

Tree Benefits and Uses

Farmer Uses
  • Food
  • Livestock Forage
  • Firewood
  • Lumber
  • Medicinal
  • Ornamental
  • Product
  • Ceremonial

Food: The seeds are roasted and ground into powder and eaten in soups and used as a flavoring and condiment. A pleasant-tasting cooking oil is extracted from the seed.

Animal Fodder: Used to feed farm animals.

Medicinal: The flowers are used as a remedy for constipation. The powdered fruit is taken with water as a remedy for intestinal parasites and stomach ache. The seed fiber is used to clean wounds. The seed oil is used topically to relieve rheumatism and is also applied to heal wounds.

Product: The seed fiber is used for stuffing pillows, mattresses, and cushions (cottony fiber from the fruit).

Firewood: Used as fuel.

Timber/Product: Used in light construction to make plywood, packing, boxes and crates, cheap furniture, matches, plywood, packing, boxes, paper products, and was traditionally used to make canoes, rafts, and farm implements.

Farm Services
  • Coffee Shade
  • Soil Improvement
  • Carbon Capture

Coffee shade: Light shade

Carbon capture: Capture and storage of atmospheric carbon.

Soil improvement: Conservation and recovery of soils.

Biodiversity Benefits
Yes

Attracts biological controllers, Attracts seed dispersers, Attracts pollinators

A long-lived tree that, thanks to the large size it reaches during maturity, offers habitat and food to insects, birds, mammals and other fauna. Invertebrates abound in its enormous canopies, which attracts several species of birds, including fine-beaked insectivores.

Citations

Citations

Plants of the World Online (POWO). (2024). Plants of the World Online. Facilitated by the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Published on the Internet. Retrieved from http://www.plantsoftheworldonline.org

International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). (2024). IUCN Red List. Published on the Internet. Retrieved from https://www.iucnredlist.org

United States Department of Agriculture. Natural Resources Conservation Service. (2024). Plants Database. Published on the Internet. Retrieved from https://plants.usda.gov/home

Román, F., De Liones, R., Sautu, A., Deago, J., & Hall, J. S. (2012). Guía para la propagación de 120 especies de árboles nativos de Panamá y el neotrópico. Retrieved from https://repository.si.edu/bitstream/handle/10088/20967/stri_GUIA_PROPAGACION.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y

Fern, Ken (2024). Tropical Plants Database. Published on the Internet. Retrieved from https://tropical.theferns.info

Universidad EIA. (2024). Catálogo virtual de Flora del Valle de Aburrá. Published on the Internet. Retrieved from https://catalogofloravalleaburra.eia.edu.co

Cárdenas, L. M. (2016). Aspectos ecológicos y silviculturales para el manejo de especies forestales: Revisión de información disponible para Colombia. Fundación Natura. Bogotá, D.C., Colombia World Flora Online. (2024). World Flora Online. Published on the Internet. Retrieved from https://www.worldfloraonline.org

Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF). (2024). GBIF. Published on the Internet. Retrieved from https://www.gbif.org/es

Cedrela odorata
Spanish cedar, Cedar Wood, West Indian Cedar, Cedro, cedro rosado, cedro amargo
Citharexylum donnell-smithii
Dama