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

A nest on the 17th August, 1880, on the outside branch of a silk-cotton tree in Belgaum about 12 feet from the ground, containing three fresh eggs.

From The Nests and Eggs of Indian Birds, Volume 1 by Allan Octavian Hume

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 Charles Kingsley

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

From Cuba Past and Present by Richard Davey

With no possibility of communicating with the others, he felt his way to a hollow silk-cotton tree, into which he crawled, and climbed upon a heap of debris that stood in the centre.

From The West Indies and the Spanish Main by James Rodway