Vol. 6 No. II 



TORREYA 



November, igo6 



SOME PHOTOGRAPHS OF THE SILK-COTTON TREE 

 (CEIBA PENTANDRA), WITH REMARKS ON THE 



EARLY RECORDS OF ITS OCCUR- LIBRaR.^ 



RENCE IN AMERICA NEW yor 



, BOTANIC/^ 

 GARDEM 



By Marshall A. Howe 



A northern visitor in the West Indian islands naturally meets 

 with many trees that are strangers to him and of these the silk- 

 cotton tree \Ceiba pentandra (L.) Gartn. — Eriodendron anfractuo- 

 siim DC] is one of the most interesting and imposing. In point 

 of size and in other peculiarities the tree is so striking that it has 

 frequently been made the subject of illustration in popular mag- 

 azines and travelers' guides, and occasionally also in botanical 

 treatises, but at this time of increasing public interest in trees it 

 is hoped that the remarkable characters of the Ceiba are sufficient 

 to justify the publication of a few more photographs for the 

 benefit of such readers of Torreya as have not yet enjoyed the 

 privilege of seeing the tree itself 



Ceiba pentandra is a member of the family Bombacaceae, which 

 is closely allied to the Malvaceae, the family to which belong 

 the plants producing the ordinary cotton of commerce. The 

 seeds of the Ceiba are covered with a soft silky fiber which is 

 used for stuffing pillows, cushions, and mattresses. This "floss " 

 is rather too short for weaving, but it possesses an elasticity which 

 adapts it well for use in upholstery. From the East Indies, 

 where also the tree occurs, large quantities of this floss are ex- 

 ported to Europe and America under the Malayan name " kapok," 

 though the fiber of Boinbax inalabaricinn and perhaps of other 

 Bombacaceous trees is sometimes included under the same trade- 



[No. lo, Vol. 6, of Torreya, comprising pages 197-216, was issued October 

 25, 1906.] 



217 



