English: Kapok bush; Desert cotton.
Region: Africa,
Madagascar, south-west and south of Asia; introduced in northern Australia.
Habitat: sandy soil; along drainage lines.
Content: flavonoids, alkaloids, tannins, sterols; protein.
Use: plant for soil binding in desert reclamation; for fuel and for fodder for goats; inflorescences for stuffing cushions and saddle pads; soft fibres are still used as kapok for pillows.
BotanyHerb, erect; about 1.6 metres; uses C4 carbon fixation.
Root: deep.
Stem: multi-stemmed; wooded soft.
Leaves: broad.
Inflorescences: thick.
Flowers: white; blooming from January and October; diplospory, a type of Agamospermy, occurs during the development of female gametophyte in the ovule and hence reduction division does not take place in the Megaspore mother cell. The diploid egg is unfertilized and forms the embryo. Hence daughter plants are exactly clones of the mother.