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Ceiba is a genus of in the family Malvaceae, native to Tropics and Subtropics areas of the Americas (from Mexico and the Caribbean to northern Argentina) and tropical West Africa. Some species can grow to tall or more, with a straight, largely branchless trunk that culminates in a huge, spreading canopy, and that can be taller than a grown person. The best-known, and most widely cultivated, species is Kapok, Ceiba pentandra, one of several trees known as kapok. Ceiba is a word from the Taíno language meaning "boat" because Taínos use the wood to build their .
Ceiba species are used as food plants by the of some Lepidoptera (butterfly and moth) species, including the leaf-miner Bucculatrix ceibae, which feeds exclusively on the genus.
Recent botanical opinion incorporates Chorisia within Ceiba and puts the genus as a whole within the family Malvaceae. A TAXONOMIC REVISION OF THE GENUS CEIBA MILL.(2003)
Modern Maya still often respectfully leave the tree standing when harvesting forest timber. (BBC Earth News) "Sacred plants of the Maya forest", 5 June 2009 accessed 6 June 2009. Pachira aquatica and Pseudobombax ellipticum are also represented in the designs of similar ceramics. The Ceiba tree is represented by a cross and serves as an important architectural motif in the Temple of the Cross Complex at Palenque.
Ceiba Tree Park is located in San Antón, in Ponce, Puerto Rico. Its centerpiece is the historic Ceiba de Ponce, a 500-year-old Ceiba pentandra tree associated with the founding of the city. En intensivo la venerada Ceiba de Ponce. Jason Rodríguez Grafal. La Perla del Sur. Ponce Puerto Rico. 19 July 2011. Retrieved 20 July 2011. Explore Puerto Rico By Harry S. Pariser. Page 246. In the surroundings of the legendary Ceiba de Ponce, broken pieces of indigenous pottery, shells, and stones were found to confirm the presence of Taino Indians long before the Spaniards that later settled in the area. Ceiba de Ponce. TravelPonce In 1525, Spain Conquistador Hernán Cortés ordered the hanging of Aztec emperor Cuauhtemoc from a Ceiba tree after overtaking his empire. The town of Chiapa de Corzo, Chiapas, Mexico was founded in 1528 by the Spanish around La Pochota, Ceiba pentandra, according to tradition. Founded in 1838, the Puerto Rico town of Ceiba is also named after this tree. The Honduras city of La Ceiba founded in 1877 was named after a particular Ceiba tree that grew down by the old docks. In 1898, the Spanish Army in Cuba surrendered to the United States under a Ceiba, which was named the Santiago Surrender Tree, outside of Santiago de Cuba.
Ceiba is also the National emblem of Guatemala. The most important Ceiba in Guatemala is known as La Ceiba de Palín Escuintla which is over 400 years old. In Caracas, Venezuela there is a 100-year-old ceiba tree in front of the San Francisco Church known as La Ceiba de San Francisco and is an important element in the history of the city. The towering specimen near the town of Sabalito, Costa Rica, is a relict tree called "la ceiba" by residents and a survivor of one of the highest terrestrial rates of tropical deforestation. One Tree By Gretchen C. Daily and Charles J. Katz Jr.
Ceiba pentandra produces a light and strong fiber (Ceiba pentandra) used throughout history to fill mattresses, pillows, tapestries, and dolls. Kapok has recently been replaced in commercial use by synthetic fibers. The Ceiba tree seed is used to extract oils used to make soap and fertilizers. The Ceiba continues to be commercialized in Asia, especially in Java, Malaysia, Indonesia and the Philippines.
Ceiba pentandra is the central theme in the book titled, The Great Kapok Tree by Lynne Cherry. Ceiba insignis and Ceiba speciosa are added to some versions of the hallucinogenic drink Ayahuasca.
Pablo Antonio Cuadra, a Nicaraguan poet, wrote a chapter about the Ceiba tree. He used it as a symbol of the Nicaraguan ancestral roots, a cradle for the nation, and source during the people's exile.
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