The tree grows to as confirmed by climbing and tape drop with reports of Kapoks up to. Trunks can often be up to in diameter above the extensive buttress roots. The very largest individuals, however, can be thick or more above the buttresses. The buttress roots can be clearly seen in photographs extending up the trunk of some specimens and extending out from the trunk as much as and then continuing below ground to a total length of The trunk and many of the larger branches are often crowded with large simple thorns. These major branches, usually 4 to 6 in number, can be up to thick and form a crown of foliage as much as in width. The palmate leaves are composed of 5 to 9 leaflets, each up to long. The trees produce several hundred pods containing seeds surrounded by a fluffy, yellowish fibre that is a mix of lignin and cellulose. The referenced reports make it clear that C. pentandra is among the largest trees in the world.
Uses
The commercial tree is most heavily cultivated in the rainforests of Asia, notably in Java, the Philippines, Malaysia, and Hainan Island in China, as well as in South America. The flowers are an important source of nectar and pollen for honey bees and bats. Bats are the primary pollinators of the night-blooming flowers. Native tribes along the Amazon River harvest the fibre to wrap around their blowgun darts. The fibres create a seal that allows the pressure to force the dart through the tube. The fibre is light, very buoyant, resilient, resistant to water, but very flammable. The process of harvesting and separating the fibre is labour-intensive and manual. It is difficult to spin, but is used as an alternative to down as filling in mattresses, pillows, upholstery, zafus, and stuffed toys such as teddy bears, and for insulation. It was previously much used in life jackets and similar devices until synthetic materials largely replaced the fibre. The seeds produce an oil that is used locally in soap and can be used as fertilizer.
A vegetable oil can be pressed from the seeds. The oil has a yellow colour and a pleasant, mild odour and taste, resembling cottonseed oil. It becomes rancid quickly when exposed to air. Kapok oil is produced in India, Indonesia and Malaysia. It has an iodine value of 85–100; this makes it a nondrying oil, which means that it does not dry out significantly when exposed to air. The oil has some potential as a biofuel and in paint preparation.
Religion and folklore
The tree is a sacred symbol in Maya mythology. According to the folklore of Trinidad and Tobago, the Castle of the Devil is a huge C. pentandra growing deep in the forest in which Bazil the demon of death was imprisoned by a carpenter. The carpenter tricked the devil into entering the tree in which he carved seven rooms, one above the other, into the trunk. Folklore claims that Bazil still resides in that tree. Most masks coming from Burkina Faso, especially those of Bobo and Mossi people, are carved from C. pentandra timber.
