This strange looking trees found along the main road of Ubi ave 2 (Singapore). At first, i thought it was many bats hanging on the trees! When you actually take a closer look, they are gaint seeds of a very special tree call 'Kapok',the tree is also known as the Java cotton.
The seed or the seed pod contain fiber which call cotton.The fibre is light, very buoyant, resilient and resistant to water. The process of harvesting and separating the fibre is labour-intensive and manual. It is difficult to spin but is used as an alternative to down as filling in mattresses, pillows, upholstery, stuffed toys such as teddy bears, zafus and for insulation. It was previously much used in life jackets and similar devices. Man-made materials largely replaced the fibre, until recently. The seeds produce an oil used locally in soap and that can be used as fertilizer.
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment