Someone asked a very good question – Why is the common name Floss-Silk Tree when nothing about it (especially the trunk) looks “silky and smooth.” Here’s what I found out from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ceiba_speciosa :
Fruits of the Floss-Silk Tree
The fruits are lignous ovoid pods, 20 centimetres (8 in) long, which contain bean-sized black seeds surrounded by a mass of fibrous, fluffy matter reminiscent of cotton or silk.
Uses
The cotton inside the fruit pods, although not of as good quality as that of the kapok tree, has been used as stuffing f(density = 0.27 g/cm³), soft and flexible, and is employed in packaging, to make canoes, as wood pulp to make paper, and in ropes. From the seeds it is possible to obtain vegetable oil (both edible and industrially useful).
