regions and is commonest in the drier, southern 

 areas. Also in Vieques, St. Croix, St. Thomas, St. 

 John, and Tortohi. 



Public forests. — Cambalache, Guajataca, Lu- 

 quillo, Eio Abajo, San Juan, Susua, Tore Negro, 

 Vega. 



Range. — Nearly throughout West Indies from 

 Cuba and Jamaica to Trinidad and Tobago. In- 

 troduced in Bermuda and Bahamas and planted 

 also in southern Florida and California. "Widely 

 distributed from Mexico to Ecuador, Brazil, and 

 Guianas. Also in tropical Africa and Asia. 



Other common names. — kapok (Virgin 

 Islands) ; ceiba, ceibo (Spanish, commerce) ; 

 pochote (Mexico, Central America) ; bongo, cot- 

 ton-ti-ee (Panama) ; ceiba de lana, bonga, ceiba 

 de Garzon (Colombia) ; silk-cotton-tree, kapok 



(English) ; cotton-tree (Bi-itish Honduras) ; 

 kumaka (British Guiana) ; mapou (Haiti, Guade- 

 loupe) ; fromager (commerce, Guadeloupe, Mar- 

 tinique, French Guiana) ; bois coton, kapokier 

 ( French Guiana) ; katoenboom, katunbom, kapok- 

 boom, silk-cotton-tree (Dutch West Indies) ; kan- 

 kantrie, kaddo bakkoe (Surinam) ; sumauma, mai 

 das arvores, cyyba, mocmayn (Brazil). 



Botanical synonyms. — Bonxbax pentandrwn 

 h., Ceiba anfractuosa (DC.) Maza.. 



Some authors have separated the New World 

 trees from those of the Old World as a variety or 

 species {Ceiba penfandm (L.) Gaertn. var. cari- 

 baea (DC.) Bakh., C. caribaea (DC.) A. Chev., C. 

 occidentalis (Spreng.) Burkill). The Spanish 

 and generic names are from an old Caribbean 

 word which is said to mean boat. 



BOMBAX FAMILY (BOMBACACEAE) 



154. Guano, balsa 



Balsa, a very rapidly gi-owing tree known in 

 Puerto Rico as guano, is easily recognized by : (1) 

 an open crown of a few coai-se spreading branches ; 

 (2) smooth pinkish-gray bark; (3) large, nearly 

 round, heart-shaped leaves 8-16 inches long and 

 broad with 7-9 main veins spreading from base 

 (pahnately veined) and with long petioles; (l) 

 the large, tubular bell-shaped, whitish and green- 

 ish flowers 5 inches long, with 5 petals, borne 

 singly; and (5) the odd dark brown cylindrical 

 seed capsules 7-10 inches long and 1-1^/4 inches 

 in diameter, covered with light brown wool after 

 opening. 



A medium-sized to large evergi'een tree, becom- 

 ing .50-80 feet in height and 21/2 feet in trunk 

 diameter, witji slight Ijuttresses when large. Inner 

 bark is fibrous, pinkish. % inch or less in thick- 

 ness. The twigs are stout, 14 inch in diameter, 

 greenish, rusty-brown haiiy when young, with 

 large brownish leaf scars and thick pith. 



The alternate leaves have stout reddish-tinged 

 petioles about as long as the blades and 2 broad 

 I'ounded scales (stipules) ^2 i'^ch long at base. 

 Leaf blades are short-pointed or slightly 3-pointed 

 (sometimes 5-pointed), edges mostly without 

 teeth, slightly thickened, green and hairless on 

 upper surface and yellow gi'een with minute star- 

 shaped hairs on lower surface. Young plants have 

 very large leaves with blades as much as 2 feet 

 long and broad. 



The flowers are formed on long stout stalks near 

 ends of twigs. They are 3-4 inches broad, slightly 

 fleshy, bearing minute star-shaped hairs. The 

 thickened brownish-green calyx has a tube about 

 2 inches long and 5 large spreading lobes IV2 

 inches long, the 2 outer lobes narrow and pointed, 

 2 lobes very broad and notched, and 1 broad on 1 

 side. There are 5 whitish petals 5 inches long, 

 broad and rounded at apex and narrow below. 

 The stamen column about 5 inches long has an 

 enlarged terminal pollen-bearing portion of many 

 spirally twisted anthers and surrounds the pistil 



334 



Ochroma pyramidale (Cav.) Urban 



with its 5-celled, conical ovary, long style A^/o 

 inches in length, and 5 spirally twisted stigmas. 



The seed capsules are 10-angled and grooved and 

 split into 5 parts to expose a mass of tawny -brown, 

 long, soft hairs, in which many small dark brown 

 seeds % inch long are loosely imbedded. Flowers 

 appearing from winter to summer, and fruits and 

 seeds mature in spring and summer. 



Balsa is the lightest of commercial woods, weigh- 

 ing less than cork. However, the Puerto Rican 

 guano (specific gravity 0.22) is heavier than balsa 

 of major commercial sources. The sapwood, the 

 main source, is whitish, often with yellowish or 

 pinkish hue, and the heartwood is pale brown or 

 reddish tinged. The wood is very soft, weak, and 

 has very coarse, straight, uniform grain. It is 

 absorbent unless treated (frequently with paraf- 

 fin), warps badly, and requires very sharp tools to 

 work. Also it is perishable, decays and becomes 

 discolored readily, and is very susceptible to attack 

 by dry-wood termites. The rate of air-seasoning 

 and amount of degrade are moderate. Machining 

 characteristics are as follows: planing is good; 

 shaping is poor; turning, boring, and mortising 

 are very poor; sanding is fair; and resistance to 

 screw splitting is excellent. 



Balsa wood was a strategic material in the Sec- 

 ond Woi'ld War, being employed chiefly for life- 

 rafts, lifebelts, and similar equipment, and in air- 

 plane construction. The best grades were used in 

 making British mosquito bombers. Nearly all the 

 wartime supply came from Ecuador. In the First 

 World War, 80,000 balsa floats were made for a 

 submarine mine barrage 250 miles long in the 

 North Sea. 



Peacetime uses elsewhere include insulation, 

 toys, floats for fishnets, and lightweight boxes. 

 Because of the insulating qualities, boxes of balsa 

 have been used for shipping cold perishables with- 

 out ice. The wood can serve as a substitute for 

 cork. The Puerto Rican guano can be used in 

 many ways like the heavier grades of balsa. It is 



