silk-cotton tree

[silk-kot-n]

noun

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.

Origin of silk-cotton tree

First recorded in 1705–15

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for silk-cotton tree

Historical Examples of silk-cotton tree

Here the vast ceiba, or silk-cotton-tree, is abundant, from which canoes are frequently hollowed out.
The Western World
W.H.G. Kingston
They were the giants of the West Indian forest—the silk-cotton-tree (Eriodendron anfractuosum).
The Maroon
Mayne Reid

British Dictionary definitions for silk-cotton tree

silk-cotton tree

noun

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

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012