Editing Ceiba

{{short description|Genus of plants}}
{{distinguish|ceibo (tree)}}
{{about|the genus of trees||Ceiba (disambiguation)}}
{{Automatic taxobox
|image = Kapok tree-pod.jpg
|image_caption = ''[[Ceiba pentandra]]'' leaves and fruit
|taxon = Ceiba
|authority = [[Philip Miller|Mill.]]<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.ars-grin.gov/cgi-bin/npgs/html/genus.pl?2218 |title=''Ceiba'' Mill. |work=Germplasm Resources Information Network |publisher=United States Department of Agriculture |date=2003-06-05 |access-date=2009-10-13 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090507011237/http://www.ars-grin.gov/cgi-bin/npgs/html/genus.pl?2218 |archive-date=2009-05-07 |url-status=dead }}</ref>
|subdivision_ranks = Species
|subdivision = 19, see text
|synonyms = 
*''Campylanthera'' {{small|Schott & Endl. (1832)}}
*''Chorisia'' {{small|Kunth (1822)}}
*''Eriodendron'' {{small|DC. (1824)}}
*''Erione'' {{small|Schott & Endl. (1832)}}
*''Gossampinus'' {{small|Buch.-Ham. (1827)}}
*''Xylon'' {{small|L. (1758), nom. illeg.}}
|synonyms_ref = {{R|POWO}}
}}

'''''Ceiba''''' is a [[genus]] of [[tree]]s in the family [[Malvaceae]], native to [[Tropics|tropical]] and [[Subtropics|subtropical]] areas of the [[Americas]] (from [[Mexico]] and the [[Caribbean]] to northern [[Argentina]]) and tropical [[West Africa]].<ref name=":0" /> Some species can grow to {{convert|70|m|ft|abbr=on}} tall or more, with a straight, largely branchless trunk that culminates in a huge, spreading canopy, and [[buttress root]]s that can be taller than a grown person. The best-known, and most widely cultivated, species is Kapok, ''[[Ceiba pentandra]]'', one of [[Kapok (disambiguation)|several trees known as ''kapok'']]. ''Ceiba'' is a word from the [[Taíno language]] meaning "boat" because Taínos use the wood to build their [[dugout canoe]]s.<ref name="EIA">{{Cite web |url=http://recursosbiologicos.eia.edu.co/ecologia/estudiantes/ceiba.htm |language=es|author=María Elena Gutiérrez L.|title=En Recursos Biológicos|publisher=Escuela de Ingeniería de Antioquía, Colombia |access-date=22 March 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150402110345/http://recursosbiologicos.eia.edu.co/ecologia/estudiantes/ceiba.htm |archive-date=2 April 2015 }}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal|url=http://www.conabio.gob.mx/conocimiento/info_especies/arboles/doctos/14-bomba5m.PDF|title=Ceiba pentandra|page=65|publisher= [[Comisión Nacional para el Conocimiento y Uso de la Biodiversidad]] |language=es|accessdate=4 October 2022}}</ref>

''Ceiba'' species are used as food plants by the [[larva]]e 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]].<ref name=":0">[http://www.rjb.csic.es/jardinbotanico/ficheros/documentos/pdf/anales/2002/Anales_60(2)_259_300.pdf A TAXONOMIC REVISION OF THE GENUS CEIBA MILL.(2003)]</ref>

==Culture and history==
The tree plays an important part in the mythologies of [[pre-Columbian]] [[Mesoamerica]]n cultures. In addition, several Amazonian tribes of eastern Peru believe deities live in Ceiba tree species throughout the jungle. The Ceiba, or ya’axché (in the [[Mopan language|Mopan]] Mayan language), symbolised to the [[Maya civilization]]  an [[axis mundi]] which connects the planes of the Underworld ([[Xibalba]]) and the sky with that of the terrestrial realm. This concept of a [[Mesoamerican world tree|central world tree]] is often depicted as a Ceiba trunk. The unmistakable thick conical thorns in clusters on the trunk were reproduced by the southern lowland Maya of the Classical Period on cylindrical ceramic burial urns or incense holders.

[[File:Ceiba - Bagh-e-Jinnah.jpg|thumb|''[[Ceiba speciosa]]'' in Lahore, Pakistan]]
Modern Maya still often respectfully leave the tree  standing when harvesting forest timber.<ref>[http://news.bbc.co.uk/earth/hi/earth_news/newsid_8083000/8083812.stm (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.</ref> The Ceiba tree is represented by a cross and serves as an important architectural motif in the [[Temple of the Cross Complex]] at [[Palenque]].<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Houston |first1=Stephen D. |author-link=Stephen D. Houston |title=Symbolic Sweatbaths of the Maya: Architectural Meaning in the Cross Group at Palenque, Mexico |journal=Latin American Antiquity |date=June 1996 |volume=7 |issue=2 |pages=132–151 |doi=10.2307/971614|jstor=971614 }}</ref>

[[Parque de la Ceiba|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.<ref>[http://www.periodicolaperla.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=2849:en-intensivo-la-ceiba-de-ponce&catid=135:actualidad-del-sur&Itemid=423 ''En intensivo la venerada Ceiba de Ponce.''] Jason Rodríguez Grafal. La Perla del Sur. Ponce Puerto Rico. 19 July 2011. Retrieved 20 July 2011.</ref><ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=2ZswCpWD1w8C&pg=PT267 Explore Puerto Rico By Harry S. Pariser. Page 246.]</ref> 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.<ref>[http://www.travelponce.com/Ceiba-de-Ponce.html ''Ceiba de Ponce.'' TravelPonce]</ref> In 1525, [[Spain|Spanish]] Conquistador [[Hernán Cortés]] ordered the [[hanging]] of [[Aztec]] emperor [[Cuauhtemoc]] from a ''Ceiba'' tree after overtaking his empire.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Cultura |first=Secretaría de |title=El tormento de Cuauhtémoc, último emperador mexica |url=http://www.gob.mx/cultura/es/articulos/el-tormento-de-cuauhtemoc-ultimo-emperador-mexica?idiom=es |access-date=2024-06-12 |website=gob.mx |language=es}}</ref> The town of [[Chiapa de Corzo, Chiapas|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|Puerto Rican]] town of [[Ceiba, Puerto Rico|Ceiba]] is also named after this tree. The [[Honduras|Honduran]] 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|national tree]] 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 (biology)|relict]] tree called "la ceiba" by residents and a survivor of one of the highest terrestrial rates of tropical deforestation.<ref>[http://tupress.org/books/one-tree One Tree By Gretchen C. Daily and Charles J. Katz Jr.]</ref>

''Ceiba pentandra'' produces a light and strong fiber ([[Ceiba pentandra|kapok]]) 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 {{explain|date=June 2017}} during the people's exile.<ref>{{Cite book|title = Seven Trees Against the Dying Light: A Bilingual Edition|last = Cuadra|first = Pablo Antonio|publisher = Northwestern University Press|date = Oct 23, 2007|pages = xi}}</ref>


== Species ==
[[File:Distribución de especies de Ceibas.jpg|thumb|275px|Distribution]]
{{As of|2025|2}}, [[Plants of the World Online]] accepts the following 5 species:{{R|POWO}}

* ''[[Ceiba aesculifolia]]'' <small>([[Carl Sigismund Kunth|Kunth]]) [[James Britten|Britten]] & [[Edmund Gilbert Baker|Baker f.]]</small> Mexico to Costa Rica
* ''[[Ceiba boliviana]]'' <small>[[James Britten|Britten]] & [[Edmund Gilbert Baker|Baker f.]]</small> southern Peru to Bolivia
* ''[[Ceiba chodatii]]'' <small>([[Emil Hassler|Hassl.]]) [[Pedro Felix Ravenna|Ravenna]]</small> southeastern Bolivia to Paraguay and northern Argentina
* ''[[Ceiba crispiflora]]'' <small>([[Carl Sigismund Kunth|Kunth]]) Ravenna</small> Rio de Janeiro and Minas Gerais states in southeastern Brazil
* ''[[Ceiba erianthos]]'' <small>([[Antonio José Cavanilles|Cav.]]) [[Karl Moritz Schumann|K. Schum.]]</small> eastern Brazil
* ''[[Ceiba glaziovii]]'' <small>([[Otto Kuntze|Kuntze]]) K. Schum.</small> northeastern Brazil
* ''[[Ceiba insignis]]'' <small>([[Carl Sigismund Kunth|Kunth]]) P. E. Gibbs & Semir</small> southern Ecuador and northern Peru
* ''[[Ceiba jasminodora]]'' (<small>[[Augustin Saint-Hilaire|A. St.-Hil.]]) K. Schum.</small> [[Serra do Espinhaço]] in southeastern Brazil
* ''[[Ceiba lupuna]]'' <small>P. E. Gibbs & Semir</small> northwestern Brazil and Peru
* ''[[Ceiba pentandra]]'' <small>([[Carl Linnaeus|L.]]) [[Joseph Gaertner|Gaertn.]]</small> Mexico, Central America, Caribbean, and northern South America
* ''[[Ceiba pubiflora]]'' (<small>[[Augustin Saint-Hilaire|A. St.-Hil.]]) [[Karl Moritz Schumann|K. Schum.]]</small> northeastern Brazil to Argentina's Misiones province
* ''[[Ceiba rubriflora]]'' <small>Carv.-Sobr. & L.P.Queiroz</small> eastern Brazil
* ''[[Ceiba salmonea]]'' <small>(Ulbr.) Bakh.</small> Peru
* ''[[Ceiba samauma]]'' <small>([[Carl Friedrich Philipp von Martius|Mart.]]) K. Schum.</small> Amazonia to Paraguay
* ''[[Ceiba schottii]]'' <small>Britten & Baker f.</small> southeastern Mexico and Guatemala
* ''[[Ceiba soluta]]'' <small>(Donn. Sm.) Ravenna</small> Guatemala
* ''[[Ceiba speciosa]]'' <small>([[Augustin Saint-Hilaire|A. St.-Hil.]]) Ravenna</small> Amazonia to Paraguay
* ''[[Ceiba trischistandra]]'' <small>([[Asa Gray|A. Gray]])</small> <small>[[Reinier Cornelis Bakhuizen van den Brink (born 1881)|Bakh.]]</small> western Ecuador and northwestern Peru
* ''[[Ceiba ventricosa]]'' <small>([[Christian Gottfried Daniel Nees von Esenbeck|Nees]] & Mart.) Ravenna</small> eastern Brazil

== Gallery ==
<gallery>
File:Ceiba Sapling 02.JPG|Ceiba tree at O Parks, WildLife, and Recreation, [[El Ostional]], Nicaragua
File:Ceiba Sapling 01.JPG|Ceiba tree at O Parks, WildLife, and Recreation, [[El Ostional]], Nicaragua
File:LaPochotaChiapa1.jpg|''Ceiba pentandra'' found in the center plaza of [[Chiapa de Corzo, Chiapas]], [[Mexico]].
File:Bombax LalBagh.JPG|''Ceiba pentandra'' in [[Lal Bagh]] gardens in Bangalore (Bengaluru), India
File:CeibaTreePeru02.jpg|Buttress roots of a ''Ceiba'' tree near the bank of the [[Amazon River|Amazon]] close to [[Iquitos]], [[Peru]].
File:P5050265.02w.jpg|Flower of Palo Borracho, Cordoba, Argentina
File:Flordepaineiraabelha.jpg|Flower of ''Ceiba speciosa'', Paineira rosa, São Paulo, Brazil
File:Paineiraespinhuda.JPG|Trunk of ''Ceiba speciosa'' (Paineira rosa), São Paulo, Brazil
File:Arvoepaineirabranca2.jpg|''Ceiba graviozii'', (paineira branca), São Paulo, Brazil
File:Brancaspaineiradetail.jpg|Paineira branca flower, São Paulo, Brazil
File:Frutospaineira.jpg|Fruits, São Paulo, Brazil
File:Frutospaina.jpg|Fruits, São Paulo, Brazil
File:Cebia speciosa X C insignis open at 1006pm 14nov08.jpg|''Ceiba speciosa'' × ''C. insignis'', a Huntington seedling flower, San Marino, California
File:Ceiba-2.jpg|''Ceiba speciosa'' in [[Lahore]]
File:Ceiba-3.jpg|''Ceiba speciosa'' in [[Lahore]]
File:美人樹 Ceiba speciosa 20201006185617.jpg|Ceiba speciosa, white flowers
File:美人樹 Ceiba speciosa 20201105081642 01.jpg|Two-color Ceiba speciosa
</gallery>

==References==
{{Reflist|refs=
<ref name="POWO">{{cite web |url=https://powo.science.kew.org/taxon/urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:30003311-2 |title=''Ceiba'' Mill. |website=[[Plants of the World Online]] |publisher=[[Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew]] |year=2025 |access-date=23 February 2025}}</ref>
}}

==External links==
{{Commons category|position=left|Ceiba}}

{{Taxonbar|from=Q284019}}

[[Category:Ceiba| ]]
[[Category:Malvaceae genera]]
[[Category:Natural history of Mesoamerica]]
[[Category:Taxa named by Philip Miller]]
[[Category:Flora of the Neotropical realm]]