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

I was much surprised to notice the rapidity with which the silk-cotton tree burst into leaf.

From Cuba Past and Present by Davey, Richard

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

Rectus and Corny and Mrs. Chipperton were up in the silk-cotton tree when I got home, and I went there and sat down.

From A Jolly Fellowship by Stockton, Frank Richard

Round the butt-end is wound a little mass from the silk-cotton tree, which exactly fits into the bore of the blow-pipe.

From On the Banks of the Amazon by Groome, William H. C.