What The Kapok Looks Like
By Tamaki Ishii
The Kapok is a big tree in the rainforest. The giant Kapok can grow to 40 meters. The Kapok tree grows 10 feet or taller a year. The Kapok is wide and has very large buttresses. The trunk can grow up to 2.7 meters. The Kapok has spreading branches. They can grow to 45 meters long or more. Sometimes the branches can grow to 30 meters too. One tree may produce 80,000 seeds. The seeds are big and round like peas. The seeds are found in the pod. The pod is thick and woody.
The pods grow on the tree. In the dry season the pods grow 3to 6 inches. That's 8 to 15 centimeters. Many pod seeds are surrounded by fiber which is like cotton. It is a long thin material. When the wind blows the pod seeds fall out. The Kapok leaves are hand shaped leaves.
It is like a hand but 7 fingers! In the low water season the Kapok tree sheds its leaves.The Kapok tree has a yellowesh rose that grows on the Kapok tree. It also has bellshaped flowers. The Kapok tree grows 500 to 4,000 fruits. That contains 200 seeds. The seeds pop and make fiber.
