218 



name. According to Cook and Collins,* " kapok " from Cciba 

 pe7itandni and related species is an article of export from the west 

 coast of Africa also. 



Perhaps the most impressive feature of the Ceiba, apart from 

 its general size and massiveness, is its development, with in- 

 creasing age, of peculiar wing-like buttresses at the base of its 

 trunk. These buttresses may reach out to a distance of twelve 

 or fifteen feet from the main body of the trunk and may have an 

 altitude of from two to twelve feet, while maintaining an almost 



Figure i. Trunk and buttresses of the great Ceida standing in the rear of the 

 Public Buildings of Nassau, New Providence, Bahamas. Photograph by Chamberlain. 



uniform thickness of only a few inches. The buttresses in a 

 well-developed condition are shown in our Figure i, which is 

 from a photograph of the famous and noble tree growing in the 

 rear of the Public Buildings of Nassau, on the island of New 

 Providence, Bahamas. Cciba pentaiidi'a is a rapidly growing tree, 



*Economic Plants of Porto Rico. Contrib. U. S. Nat. Herb. 8: III. 1903. 



