Common name: White Silk Cotton Tree, True Kapok Tree, {Schwetsimul, Setsimul (Bengali)} {Safed Semul सफेद सेमुल, Safed savara सफेद सावरा (Hindi)}, Safeta savara सफेत सावरा (Marathi), Shweta shalmali श्वेत शालमली (Sanskrit), {Panji tannaku பஞ்சித்தணக்கு, Shalmali ல்மலி (Tamil)}, Tella buruga (Telugu), Sambal (Urdu)

Botanical name: Ceiba pentandra (L.) Gaertn. - [ (SAY-buh) latinized form of the South American name for this tree; (pen-TAN-druh) five stamens ] Synonyms: Bombax guineensis Schum. & Thonn. • Bombax occidentale Spreng. • Bombax orientale Spreng. • Bombax pentandrum L. • Ceiba caribaea (DC.) A. Chev. • Ceiba guineensis (Schum. & Thonn.) A. Chev. • Ceiba occidentalis (Spreng.) Burkill • Ceiba thonningii A. Chev. • Eriodendron anfractuosum DC. • Eriodendron caribaeum G. Don • Eriodendron guineense G. Don & Thonn. • Eriodendron orientale Kostel • Eriodendron pentandrum (L.) Kurz • Xylon pentandrum (L.) Kuntze Family: Bombacaceae (baobab family)

Origin: Tropical America

Ceiba is the name of a genus of many species of large trees found in tropical areas, including Mexico, Central and South America, The Bahamas, the Caribbean, West Africa, and Southeast Asia.

Some species can grow to 70 meters tall or more, with a straight, largely branchless trunk that culminates in a huge, spreading canopy, and "buttress" roots that can be taller than a grown man.

The best-known, and most widely cultivated, species is Kapok, Ceiba pentandra.

Ceiba should not be confused with the vernacular name ceibo (Erythrina crista-galli), the national tree of Argentina and Uruguay.

Ceiba is also the national tree of both Guatemala and Puerto Rico.

Courtesy: - Dave's Garden - Zipcode Zoo - EcoPort - Mytho-Fleurs - Multilingual Multiscript Plant Name Database