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

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

From Time Magazine Archive

Curiosity, however, urged us on; and at length we reached the ajoupa, which was built on a small open space near the river, beneath a gigantic silk-cotton tree.

From At Last by Kingsley, Charles

Kapok, ka-pok′, n. a cottony or silky fibre covering the seeds of a species of silk-cotton tree, used for stuffing pillows, &c.

From Chambers's Twentieth Century Dictionary (part 2 of 4: E-M) by Various

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

They feed on the nectar provided by these flowers and those of the silk-cotton tree.

From A Bird Calendar for Northern India by Dewar, Douglas