Kapok tree

The monumental, buttressed ceiba was the sacred tree of the Taíno, and today it is the national tree of Puerto Rico.

One of the tallest trees in the tropics, reaching 50–60 m, with a straight trunk, a spreading crown and massive buttress roots. In the dry season it sheds its leaves and flowers, then produces capsules filled with silky down (kapok), once used to stuff pillows and life jackets. It grows in lowland forests and in open country, and thanks to its fast growth and long life it forms impressive specimens centuries old.

Significance in the country

For the Indigenous Taíno the ceiba linked the world of the living with the afterlife, and famous old specimens – such as the centuries-old ceiba in Ponce or the giant on the island of Vieques – are now protected as natural and historic monuments.

Where it grows

Throughout the archipelago – in lowland forests, on pastures and in city parks; the most famous specimens grow in Ponce and on the island of Vieques.

More: Wikipedia (en) Wikipedia (pl)