Tribal Roots Finder

The Maya civilization and other pre-Columbian Mesoamerican cultures depict this magnificent tree as the “world tree” standing at the center of the earth, with its massive trunk connecting the underworld and the skies with the terrestrial realm…

The Ceiba (pronounced "sayba")—sometimes called the “Cotton Tree”—is one of the largest in the Central American Rainforest and can grow to a height of 200 feet and is revered today. For this reason, these grand trees are regularly spared when forests are cut, so  it is common to see lone, isolated Ceiba trees spreading their shady branches high above a pasture or agricultural field, a relict of the great forests that once were there.

The giant limbs of the umbrella-shaped crown provide a home for countless species of animals…birds, mammals, frogs and insects. Ceiba flowers open in the evening and are pollinated by pollen- and nectar-feeding bats.

The tree produces three-to-six-inch long, elliptical fruits which contain many seeds surrounded by dense cottony fibers. The tree gets its common name from these fibers which rain from the tree when the fruits ripen. The fibers (called Kapok in Asia) are non-allergenic and are in high commercial demand for their use in insulation, padding in sleeping bags and for stuffing mattresses and pillows. In Puerto Rico the tree was often planted in the center of plazas for shade, and it is considered a valuable honey tree.

Oil is made from the seeds of kapoks and is then made into soap. The seeds are also eaten by people and livestock in many parts of the world. In traditional medicine practiced in Surinam, the seeds, leaves, bark and resin from kapok trees are used to treat dysentery, fevers, venereal diseases, asthma, menstrual bleeding and kidney diseases. In Colombia, the bark is made into a liquid and applied to hair to stimulate growth. The same concoction is also given to cows after delivery to help shed the placenta.

The Cotton Tree is a historic symbol of Freetown, the capital city of Sierra Leone. It was found growing in the town centre in 1792 when a group of former African American slaves, who had gained their freedom by escaping to the British during the American War of Independence, joined the settlement and gave it the name Freetown. The tree is also the site for offering prayers for peace and prosperity.

The Ceiba tree is found in tropical rain forests or moist areas of drier forests in West Africa and in Central and South America, where it grows from southern Mexico to the southern boundary of the Amazon basin. Ceiba trees are also grown on plantations in southeast Asia.

Historical note: The ancient Mayans were a magnificent civilization and left behind extraordinary archaeological wonders. One theory about their demise is that their successes led to the destruction of too much forest for corn production. This led to less animal production, a vital supplement to their corn diet. And the loss of forest worsened their water conservation, which was always a challenge.

The Ceiba is the national tree of Guatemala, Cuba, Puerto Rico, Trinidad and Tobago, Sierra Leone, Ghana and Equatorial Guinea.