gg PHILIPPINE FIBER PLANTS 



The seeds are surrounded by silky hairs which are similar 

 to kapok from Ceiba pentandra, but whiter. The fiber is often 

 confused with kapok and has been shipped from Indo-China to 

 France under that name. A very detailed account of this 

 fiber is given by Crevost and Lemarie.* They say that it 

 is less waxy than that of Ceiba peyitandra and so does not 

 behave in the same way in the presence of water. 



Dodge t also mentions the use of the hairs for stuffing pillows. 



Bombax Ceiba is a very large tree, leafless in the dry season. 

 The trunk is covered with large pyramidal spines. The leaves 

 are palmately compound with five to seven leaflets, which are 

 smooth, oval, pointed at both ends, and from 10 to 20 centimeters 

 in length. The flowers are 8 to 10 centimeters long, red, and 

 appear while the tree is leafless. The capsules are about 15 

 centimeters long. 



This species is found at low altitudes throughout the Philip- 

 pines. 



Genus CEIBA 



CEIBA PENTANDRA (L.) Gaertn. Kapok OR SiLK COTTON TREE. 



Local names: Balios (Bulacan) ; hasangldi (Ilocos Sur, Abra) ; bohoi, 

 bubiii (Bulacan, Bataan, Cavite, Batangas, Rizal, Laguna, Tayabas, Min- 

 doro) ; boiboi (Capiz) ; biUak (Abra, Zambales, Pampanga, Bulacan, Cavite, 

 Batangas, Rizal, Manila, Laguna, Tayabas, Mindoro) ; bulak-dondol (Cebu) ; 

 bidak-kastila (Pampanga) ; bfdak-sino (Bulacan, Bataan, Cavite, Batan- 

 gas, Rizal, Laguna, Tayabas, Mindoro) ; dogdol (Cebu) ; dolclol (Leyte, Sa- 

 mar, Iloilo, Antique, Capiz, Bohol, Cebu, Cuyo Islands) ; dondol (Cebu) ; 

 gdpas (Misamis) ; kdpah (Zambales) ; kdpak (Bulacan, Rizal, Bohol) ; 

 kdpas (Ilocos Norte and Sur, Zambales) ; kdpcis-scmgldi (Ilocos Norte and 

 Sur, Abra) ; kapok or kapok (Tarlac, Sorsogon, Masbate, Davao and other 

 parts of Mindanao, Basilan, Sulu group) ; kapos, kasangldi (Pangasinan) ; 

 kayo (Camarines, Albay, Sorsogon, Samar, Leyte, Capiz, Antique, Iloilo, 

 Cebu, Bohol) ; sangldi (Abra). 



The fibers from the seed pod of this tree are very extensively 

 used for stuffing pillows and mattresses, and are excellent for 

 these purposes. They are also employed in making life pre- 

 servers. During the past three years, 56,632 kilos of this ma- 

 terial, valued at 20,194 pesos, have been exported from the 

 Philippines. 



Ceiba pentandra is a slender, erect tree, 15 meters or less in 

 height. The trunk is usually armed with scattered, large spines. 



* Crevost, Ch. and Lemarie, Ch,, Plantes et Produits filamentaux et 

 textiles de L'Indochine. Bulletin Economique de L'Indochine, No. 137, 

 New Series, July-August, 1919. 



t Dodge, C. R., A descriptive catalogue of useful fiber plants of the 

 world. U. S. Department of Agriculture. Fiber investigations. Report 

 No. 9. 



