silk-cotton tree

American  

[silk-kot-n] / ˈsɪlkˌkɒt n /

noun

1. any of several spiny trees belonging to the genus Ceiba, of the bombax family, having palmately compound leaves and seeds surrounded by silk cotton, especially C. pentandra, from which kapok is obtained.

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silk-cotton tree British  

noun

1. Also called: kapok tree.  any of several tropical bombacaceous trees of the genus Ceiba, esp Ceiba pentandra, having seeds covered with silky hairs from which kapok is obtained

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Etymology

Origin of silk-cotton tree

First recorded in 1705–15

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

silk-cotton tree

The filling is kapok, a soft fiber that comes from a silk-cotton tree.

From Time Magazine Archive

The silk-cotton tree is the rival of the palm in dignity; it has a white bark and a lofty flat crown.

From The Andes and the Amazon Across the Continent of South America by Orton, James

Half way between the American camp and the city there was a beautiful ceiba-tree, or silk-cotton tree, so called from the large seed-pods, full of soft, cotton-like stuff.

From Young Peoples' History of the War with Spain by Holmes, Prescott

The red cotton, or silk-cotton, tree, when in spring covered with its huge magnolia-shaped scarlet blossoms, is one of the most magnificent objects in nature.

From Rambles and Recollections of an Indian Official by Sleeman, William

A silk-cotton tree, which had shed all its leaves, stood there in the distance, like a skeleton.

From The Home and the World by Tagore, Rabindranath