Kapok / Kapok Tree
Ceiba pentandra
Also known as White Silk Cotton Tree
- Habit
- Tree
- Found in India
- Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka & more
- Flowering
- January-June
How to identify Kapok
Identify Kapok by combining habit, leaf characters, flower or fruit details, location, and its family pattern. Do not rely on one feature alone.
- Look for a tree habit.
- Check the distinctive field mark: Silky kapok floss in seed pods.
- Confirm flower colour: White-cream.
- In season, compare flowering and fruiting time: January-June.
- In India, compare location records such as Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Rajasthan and nearby regions.
- Confirm it sits within the Bombacaceae family pattern, then compare close relatives before deciding it is Kapok.
Plant Details
- Scientific name
- Ceiba pentandra
- Genus
- Ceiba
- Family
- Bombacaceae
- Habit
- Tree
- Habitat
- Cultivated
- Habitat type
- Cultivated
- Native to
- Africa
- Distribution
- Tropics of the World
- Found in India
- Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Rajasthan, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Gujarat, Kerala, West Bengal, Uttar Pradesh, Goa, Chhattisgarh, Delhi, Odisha
- Flowering & fruiting
- January-June
- Conservation status
- Not Evaluated (NE)
Flower & fruit characters
- Flower colour
- White-creamrecorded
Characters marked “recorded” are for Kapok itself; the rest are typical of the Bombacaceae family — flowering plants only.
Local Names
- Hindi
- Safed semal सफ़ेद सेमल,कापोक kapok,सेमर semar
- Bengali
- শ্ৱেত সিমল Shwet Simul, সাদা শিমুল, শ্বেত শিমুল
- Tamil
- Pancu, இலவு, இலவ மரம்
- Telugu
- తెల్లబూరుగ
- Kannada
- ಬಿಳಿಬೂರಗ Bili booraga, ಬಿಳಿಬೂರುಗ Bili booruga, ಬೂರಲ Boorala
- Malayalam
- Pannimaram, പഞ്ഞിമരം, നകുലി
- Marathi
- Samali, कपोक
About Kapok
Kapok Tree (Ceiba pentandra) is a tree in the Bombacaceae family. In India it has been recorded in Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and 12 other states. It is cultivated. Flowering and fruiting run from January to June.
Uses
In practice it is grown for parts that are eaten, long used in traditional medicine and stripped for fibre used in rope and matting. Those medicinal uses are traditional attributions, not medical advice.
In culture
It is used as an official or regional emblem.
Bombacaceae
Bombax Or Kapok Family
Kapok belongs to the Bombacaceae family.
The illustration represents the family — not necessarily this exact species.
Explore the Bombacaceae familySnap it. Know it.
Point your camera at Kapok or any plant and SASYA identifies it instantly — on-device, offline, and private.
Common plant problems
If you are starting from symptoms instead of a diagnosis, use the plant disease symptom checker to narrow the cause before treating.
All plant problem & care guides