394 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 Lemarié.* They say that it 
is less waxy than that of Ceiba pentandra and so does not 
behave in the same way in the presence of water. 
Dodge + 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); basangldi (Ilocos Sur, Abra); bobdi, 
bubii (Bulacan, Bataan, Cavite, Batangas, Rizal, Laguna, Tayabas, Min- 
doro) ; boibéi (Capiz); bilak (Abra, Zambales, Pampanga, Bulacan, Cavite, 
Batangas, Rizal, Manila, Laguna, Tayabas, Mindoro) ; bulak-dondol (Cebu) ; 
bilak-kastila (Pampanga); bzlak-sino (Bulacan, Bataan, Cavite, Batan- 
gas, Rizal, Laguna, Tayabas, Mindoro) ; dogdél (Cebu) ; doldol (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); kdpas-sanglai (Ilocos Norte and 
Sur, Abra); kdpok or kapék (Tarlac, Sorsogon, Masbate, Davao and other 
parts of Mindanao, Basilan, Sulu group); kapés, kasangldi (Pangasinan) ; 
kayo (Camarines, Albay, Sorsogon, Samar, Leyte, Capiz, Antique, Lloilo, 
Cebu, Bohol) ; sanglai (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 Lemarié, Ch., Plantes et Produits filamentaux et 
textiles de L’Indochine. Bulletin Economique de L’Indochine, No. 137, 
New Series, July-August, 1919. 
+ Dodge, C. R., A descriptive catalogue of useful fiber plants of the 
world. U. S. Department of Agriculture. Fiber investigations. Report 
No. 9. 
