BOTANICAL RECORD
Ceiba pentandra (L.) Gaertn.
Ceiba · Kapok tree · Malvaceae
Uses & extracts
Precautions
Flammable fibres and unvalidated oil
Literature synthesis
- Kapok is flammable; avoid flames and airborne dust when handling it. Fibres can irritate eyes and airways. Do not consume crude seed oil: cyclopropenoid fatty acids raise safety concerns.
Documentation and strength of evidence
Documentation: Not assessed
Claimed effect: Not evaluated
A spiritually significant tree
Traditional account
- Fieldwork in southern Ghana records associations between Ceiba and spirits, and restrictions on felling without ritual. These are beliefs documented among particular informants, not generalisations about everyone in Busua or Ghana.
Documentation and strength of evidence
Documentation: Not assessed
Claimed effect: Not evaluated
Geographic origin : Southern Ghana
Kapok and lightweight wood
Literature synthesis
- Kapok is used for stuffing: it is light, resilient and water-repellent. The wood is used for veneer, canoes and lightweight objects, but has poor natural resistance to insects and fungi. A small stuffing trial could suit Odo’s crafts.
Practical suggestion; no completed local trial is reported.
Documentation and strength of evidence
Documentation: Not assessed
Claimed effect: Not evaluated
Seed oil: composition and caution
Laboratory study
- An analysis identified cyclopropenoid fatty acids, including malvalic and sterculic acids. A composition of industrial interest does not establish food or cosmetic safety for a crude oil.
Documentation and strength of evidence
Documentation: Not assessed
Claimed effect: Not evaluated
Bark extracts: preclinical evidence
Animal study
- An aqueous bark extract showed a glucose-lowering effect in diabetic rats. This establishes neither efficacy nor a safe human dose. Medicinal uses remain documentary; no Odo remedy is proposed.
Documentation and strength of evidence
Documentation: Not assessed
Claimed effect: Human efficacy not established
Record sources 10
Sources and origins
Cocoa swollen shoot virus disease (CSSVD) — Ghana
- Publication year
- 2016
- Source link
- View source ↗
- Type
- Plant-health advisory factsheet
- Date accessed
- 2026-09-15
General guidance for Ghana; no diagnosis at Odo Valley.
Magic plants in the south of Ghana
- Author or institution
- Britt Myren
- Publication year
- 2011
- Source link
- View source ↗
- Type
- Ethnobotanical field report
- Geographic origin
- Southern Ghana
- Date accessed
- 2026-09-15
Research internship report; documents accounts and beliefs without demonstrating therapeutic efficacy.
Extreme long-distance dispersal of the lowland tropical rainforest tree Ceiba pentandra L. (Malvaceae) in Africa and the Neotropics
- Author or institution
- Dick CW, Bermingham E, Lemes MR, Gribel R
- Publication year
- 2007
- Source link
- View source ↗
- DOI
- 10.1111/j.1365-294X.2007.03341.x
- Type
- Research article
- Date accessed
- 2026-09-15
Population genetic study; does not establish the origin of Odo’s trees.
Ceibas at Odo Valley and local history around Busua
- Author or institution
- JB
- Publication year
- 2026
- Type
- Direct account
- Geographic origin
- Odo Valley · Busua · Ghana
- Date accessed
- 2026-09-15
- Provenance and context
- Account shared on 15 September 2026: about four naturally regenerating trees, already approximately 25 m tall and currently the largest on the land. Many Ceibas around Busua were reportedly felled during the last 50–100 years.
Count and height are approximate. The felling history is a local account, without a verified historical inventory. Tree ages and the start of regeneration are unknown.
Ceiba pentandra — Agroforestree Database 4.0
- Author or institution
- Orwa C, Mutua A, Kindt R, Jamnadass R, Anthony S
- Publication year
- 2009
- Source link
- View source ↗
- Type
- Documentary reference
- Date accessed
- 2026-09-15
Ceiba pentandra — Plants of the World Online
- Author or institution
- Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew
- Source link
- View source ↗
- Type
- Documentary reference
- Page, table or passage
- Accepted name, family and distribution
- Date accessed
- 2026-09-15
Ceiba pentandra — NParks Flora & Fauna Web
- Author or institution
- National Parks Board, Singapore
- Source link
- View source ↗
- Type
- Documentary reference
- Date accessed
- 2026-09-15
Physicochemical and Antioxidant Characteristics of Kapok (Ceiba pentandra Gaertn.) Seed Oil
- Author or institution
- Anwar F, Rashid U, Shahid SA, Nadeem M
- Publication year
- 2014
- Source link
- View source ↗
- DOI
- 10.1007/s11746-014-2445-y
- Type
- Research article
- Date accessed
- 2026-09-15
Chemical oil analysis; does not validate the safety of oil pressed at Odo.
Ceiba pentandra — PROTA
- Source link
- View source ↗
- Type
- Documentary reference
- Page, table or passage
- Origin, uses and safety limitations
- Date accessed
- 2026-09-15
Hypoglycemic properties of aqueous bark extract of Ceiba pentandra in streptozotocin-induced diabetic rats
- Author or institution
- Ladeji O, Omekarah I, Solomon M
- Publication year
- 2003
- Source link
- View source ↗
- DOI
- 10.1016/S0378-8741(02)00321-5
- Type
- Research article
- Date accessed
- 2026-09-15
Animal study; this study validates no human therapeutic dose.